The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Boston Bruins in Round 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The series will run between Thursday, April 12 to Wednesday, April 25 (if necessary), with the Bruins holding home-ice advantage.
The Leafs went 3-1-0 against the Bruins this season, starting with back-to-back Leafs wins in a home-and-home on Nov. 10-11. The two teams then split a pair of meetings a few weeks apart in February.
Worth noting is that the Leafs were without Auston Matthews for three of those games, while the Bruins were without Brad Marchand for one game (although it was their lone win). The two Leaf wins in November came before the Bruins’ season really took off, as Boston was the best team in the NHL from Dec. 1 onward (39-12-8, 86 points).
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins - Round 1 Playoff Schedule
| Game | Date | Home Team | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday, April 12 | Boston | 7 p.m. EST | 5-1 Loss |
| 2 | Saturday, April 14 | Boston | 8 p.m. EST | 7-3 Loss |
| 3 | Monday, April 16 | Toronto | 7 p.m. EST | 4-2 Win |
| 4 | Thursday, April 19 | Toronto | 7 p.m. EST | 3-1 Loss |
| 5* | Saturday, April 21 | Boston | 8 p.m. EST | 4-3 Win |
| 6* | Monday, April 23 | Toronto | 7 p.m. EST | 3-1 Win |
| 7* | Wednesday, April 25 | Boston | 7:30 p.m. EST | 7-4 Loss |
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins – 2017-18 Season Stats
| TOR | BOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Record | 49-26-7 (105pts) | 50-20-12 (112pts) |
| GF/g | 2.67 | 3.5 |
| GA/g | 3.5 | 2.67 |
| PP% | 23.1% | 31.6% |
| PK% | 68.4% | 76.9% |
| Shots/g | 28.8 | 34.8 |
| Shots Against/g | 34.8 | 28.8 |
| 5v5 CF% | 47.9% | 52% |
| 5v5 SV% | .911 | .917 |
| 5v5 SH% | 8.3 | 8.9 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Hyman – Matthews – Nylander
(82-15-25-40) – (62-34-29-63) – (82-20-41-61) | Total Goals: 69
Marleau – Kadri – Marner
(82-27-20-47) – (80-32-23-55) – (82-22-47-69) | Total Goals: 81
Van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Brown
(82-36-18-54) – (81-11-32-43) – (82-14-14-28) | Total Goals: 61
Komarov – Plekanec – Kapanen
(74-7-12-19) – (77-6-20-26) – (37-7-2-9) | Total Goals: 20
Defencemen
Rielly – Hainsey
(74-6-46-52) – (80-4-19-23) | Total Goals: 10
Gardiner – Zaitsev
(82-5-47-52) – (60-5-8-13) | Total Goals: 10
Dermott – Polak
(37-1-12-13) – (54-2-10-12) | Total Goals: 3
Goaltenders
Andersen (.918 sv%)
McElhinney (.934 sv%)
Extras: Moore (50-6-6-12), Leivo (16-1-3-4), Martin (50-3-9-12), Johnsson (9-2-1-3), Carrick (47-4-8-12)
Boston Bruins Projected Lineup
Forwards
Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak
(68-34-51-85) – (64-30-33-63) – (82-35-45-80) | Total Goals: 102
Debrusk – Krejci – Rick Nash
(70-16-27-43) – (64-17-27-44) – (71-21-13-34 | Total Goals: 53
Heinen – Riley Nash – Backes
(77-16-31-47) – (76-15-26-41) – (57-14-19-33) | Total Goals: 45
Donato – Acciari – Gionta
(12-5-4-9) – (60-10-1-11) – (20-2-5-7) | Total Goals: 17
Extras: Schaller (82-10-12-22), Wingels (18-2-4-5)
Defencemen
Chara – McAvoy
(73-7-17-24) – (63-7-25-32) | Total Goals: 14
Krug – Miller
(76-14-45-59) – (68-1-15-16) | Total Goals: 15
Grzelcyk – McQuaid
(61-3-12-15) – (38-1-3-4) | Total Goals: 4
Goaltenders
Rask (.917 sv%)
Khudobin (.913 sv%)
Injuries: Brandon Carlo
Statistically, the two teams stack up similarly across offensive categories, but the Bruins have been a stingier team defensively as far as goals and shots against, as well as a superior possession team in the regular season. The Leafs inflict their damage offensively by being one of the most lethal transition teams in the league, while the Bruins generate more off of their forecheck and cycle game.
Looking at the lines breakdown, the Bruins’ loaded top unit is arguably the league’s best and a major headache for the Leafs to deal with, but the Leafs have a formidable answer in Auston Matthews’ line. The Leafs’ lines 2-4 were more productive, but the Bruins are no slouch in the forward depth department, either. The Leafs’ blue line boasts two 50-point defensemen in Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly, while the Bruins counter with a 59-point blue liner in Torey Krug, as well as rookie Charlie McAvoy, who posted 32 points in 63 games this season.
Leafs (JvR, Matthews, Kadri) & Bruins (Marchand, Pastrnak, Bergeron) are the only NHL teams with three players with 30+ goals this season
Boston loads them up on one line
Toronto has them on three different lines— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 9, 2018
In net, Frederik Andersen and Curtis McElhinney have slightly outperformed Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin at 5v5 this season while facing significantly more shots against. Andersen is 10-1-0 lifetime against the Bruins with a .935 save percentage, while Rask is 15-7-2 against the Leafs over his career with a .925 save percentage.
There is much more to get into in the coming days as far as strengths, weaknesses, matchups and systems, but this should be one hell of a battle.
