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Jeremy Bracco signs on the dotted line ahead of the OHL playoffs, Tuesday night scoreboard watching, Damien Cox endorses Babcock for Jack Adams, and more in the links.


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Maple Leafs sign Jeremy Bracco to entry-level contract (PPP)
Through 2015-16 and this season, Bracco played 76 games for the Rangers and scored 38 goals, and 77 assists in Kitchener, averaging 1.5 points per game. At this years OHL trade deadline, he was sent to the Memorial Cup host Windsor Spitfires, and while he was slow to start in his new city, he finished the regular season with eight goals, 24 assists, in the final 30 games.

Game #71 Review: Toronto Maple Leafs 4 vs. Boston Bruins 2 (MLHS)
A number of the high-end power plays from the start of the season have cooled off significantly since January 1. All of the Blue Jackets, the Rangers and Ducks were in the top five of the league after 37 or 38 games, and all three have had a bottom-five success rate since then. The Leafs’ PP, meanwhile, keeps chugging along with a 27.7% since Jan. 1, including a huge game-winning goal late in the third last night.

JVR, Rielly, Komarov, Kadri, Andersen react to win over Bruins (MLHS)
Did you enjoy the challenge of going up against Marchand?
Komarov: Yeah, I mean he’s a great player. He’s dangerous out there, so it’s tough to play against him. He loves to talk and I love to talk. We were made for each other.

When you were talking on the bench, was it X-rated, or?
Komarov: It was just like, how’s his day going. It was nothing brutal. It’s a hockey game. He’s a great guy.

Leafs’ Marner cuts opponents down to size (Toronto Star)
What almost certainly helped Marner — who might not get enough credit for his physical play — was an extra year in junior with the London Knights. “It allowed him to mature as a player and as a person, and to get physically stronger,” said Lamoriello. “We still didn’t really know until he got here where he was at from the year before. It’s a tremendous credit to him because he worked all summer. He did the things that were asked of him. We all know the type of skill he has.

[Paywall] Is Brian Boyle worth bringing back? (The Athletic)
The reaction across the Leafosphere was fairly straightforward. Commentators loved that the Leafs were acting like a contender, adding a battle-worn veteran leader who possesses a hockey soul. Boyle would be a faceoff-winning machine and an immediate fourth-line upgrade. Sounds pretty good. But do the stats back up the Leafs’ decision to add a 32-year-old fourth line centreman?

Mike Babcock will deserve Adams Trophy if Leafs make playoffs (Toronto Star)
Clearly, getting Auston Matthews changed everything. But Babcock has done well to protect the 19-year-old in any number of ways, while insisting he play a responsible defensive game. Going into the game against Boston Monday night, the Leafs had the No. 1 power play in the league and the ninth-best penalty killing brigade, massive improvements on being 29th at extra strength and 13th in penalty killing a year ago. Over two seasons, Babcock also has taken a weak possession team and made it into one of the league’s better clubs in that regard.

Leafs’ Babcock has unwavering faith in ‘Hunlak’ despite fan scorn (Sportsnet)
“He’s good at identifying areas of the ice that are really important,” Connor Carrick said of Polak. “Like where is a scoring area? Where is somebody going to score on me next? And then put the fire out, you just stand right there. … Those guys are good at what they do and there’s a reason why teams sign them and play them and want them around their team. He gets to areas of the ice that are defensively sound, where goals can happen, and they don’t because he’s standing there.”

Brian Boyle has already changed the way the Leafs do business (National Post)
Babcock’s trust in the American pivot at both ends has meant the trio is suddenly free to match up against anyone, including Russian dynamo Nikita Kucherov last week and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews over the weekend. That didn’t happen (on purpose, at least) earlier in the year when Ben Smith and rookie Frederik Gauthier ineffectively filled the ever-shifting centre spot. “I would say he makes our line more responsible,” said Soshnikov. “We can match up against the good lines.”

Maple Leafs look like they’re for real (Toronto Star)
They seem far more comfortable with the lead late in games. And falling behind early is no longer a death sentence. They are a tidy 5-1-1 in their last seven, and in three of those wins the opponent scored first. They had only done that four times until two weeks ago. Now it’s a common occurrence.

The Leafs have officially exorcised their demons against the Bruins (SB Nation)
Monday’s game, like the other three Maple Leafs vs. Bruins tilts, involved a 4-1 score that favored Toronto. Unlike in their last meeting at the beginning of February, however, the lead stuck and the Maple Leafs earned a 4-2 victory. With playoff positioning on the line, Toronto got a few key — and potentially favorable — penalties called against the Bruins and scored four straight to close the gap to one point on Boston in the Atlantic Division.

Craig’s List: Lots of talent after Patrick, Hischier (TSN)
Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Nico Hischier of the Halifax Mooseheads continue to occupy the top two spots in the March edition of Craig’s List. Patrick has done nothing but solidify his spot at the top of our rankings for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. After missing much of the first half of the season due to injury, Patrick’s game is rounding into form (20 goals and 26 assists in 33 games). He’s showed he has all the attributes and potential to become a top centre at the next level.


Playoff Scoreboard Watch: Bruins, Lightning in action

Senators at Bruins
The Bruins have lost two straight games (0-2-0) and have seen their lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division slip to one point. The Maple Leafs have one game in hand. A Senators win in regulation would improve the Leafs playoff odds by 1.9%; a Bruins regulation would win decrease them by 0.9%.

Coyotes at Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by four points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining. An Arizona win in regulation would increase the Leafs’ playoff odds by 3.4%; a Lightning win would decrease them by 1.5%.

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