Leafs Win at Home, Take Series Lead
This is de ja vu all over again. I am just hoping the ending will be different this time.
The Leafs beat the Bruins 3-2 on home ice today to take the 2-1 series lead, with suspended Nazem Kadri watching from the press box.
A year ago, with Kadri serving his suspension, we won Game 3 at home as well, but ended up losing the series in seven games.
Kadri came back to play later in that series in 2018. This year, he has been suspended for the remainder of the series. Could be anywhere from 3 to 5 games.
This game wasn't nearly as physical as Game 2, and that worked in our favor (more on that later). Freddie had another strong game in net and Matthews finally scored his first of the series.
My takeaways:
Johnsson with the Best Game
Johnsson was flying out there all game. He had that extra bounce in his steps/strides, back-checked hard on defense to force turnovers, and made smart decision on the offensive end.
Hockey Gods can be cruel, but they can also be fair. If you play as hard and well as Johnsson did today, you get rewarded with a goal and an assist. That goal stood as GWG. And even without those points, Johnsson would have been one of my three stars.
He made that deft pass to set up Matthews for PPG in the 2nd. A less poised player could have rushed to fire the puck at the net in that situation. But Johnsson hesitated for a split second to freeze Carlo in a mini 2-on-1 and fed the puck to Matthews, who fired home a quick one.
Tavares made a sick, no-look pass between his legs from the boards to set up Johnsson for a pretty backhander.
Amazing what skills can do.
And Johnsson isn't just a one-trick pony. He plays with a certain edge and can battle in the corners. He had a sluggish start to this season but has been a really valuable secondary offensive option. I see a 30-goal season in Johnsson and hopefully it will come in a Leafs uniform (he is an RFA).
Officiating
I felt things got out of control in Game 2 and I blamed it on the refs. The zebras probably heard a word or two from upstairs, and they called a tight game, with a couple of ticky-tacky penalties being called.
Maybe the game wasn't quite as intense, but I liked it that there wasn't any nonsense taking place during stoppages of play.
And the players on both sides generally behaved, too. Just a clean hockey game.
It probably affected the way the Bruins played. Maybe they wanted to play a rough game and take it to us. But knowing how the refs were calling the game, there was no point of risking penalties from their perspective. And we did score two PPGs.
The Bruins looked out of sorts, much like Game 1. I hope it stays that way the rest of the series.
Marner Taking One (Or Two) for the Team
Just watch this.
That's two blocked shots by Mitch in the dying seconds!!
Two great things about this sequence: 1) Mitch didn't get hurt 2) His teammates mobbed him afterward, showing their appreciation. You won't see it in the above clip, but Jake Muzzin even lifted him off the ice in the post-game celly.
After wins, players usually gather around their goalie. But Mitch was the magnet after this one. And deservedly so. He earned every one of those hugs and high-fives and whatever it is that athletes do after victories.
That Marner was on the ice in the final moments of a one-goal game says a lot about the amount of trust he's earned from his coaches. It's like in basketball, too. The five guys on the floor in the defensive possession in the last seconds of a close game are the five guys that a coach trust the most.
It's not that much of a stretch to say Marner has been a better Leaf than Matthews over the past two seasons. Marner has played all 164 games, has expanded his game as a strong penalty killer, and our power play goes through this dynamic playmaker. This is the same guy who saw fourth-line minutes early last season. He scored more than a point a game in the second half of last season (90+ point pace) and did get 94 points this season.
Marner needs a new deal. Hockey people say centers are always more valuable than wingers and by that logic, maybe Marner doesn't deserve as much money as Matthews.
But Marner is that rare winger who drives a line. It says here Tavares doesn't get his 47 goals (37 on even strength) without Mitch on his right side. I think he should earn at least as much as Matthews. He's that important to our team.
Game 4
I think Game 4 is even more crucial for us than for the Bruins. Yeah, sure, if those guys lose, they go home down 3-1 in the series. But for us, if we don't win the next one on home ice, we have to win two games in Boston to take the series. That's a tall order.
So it's a virtual must-win for both sides, rather than a literal must-win.
We have proven during the regular season that we can win games without Kadri. It'd be nice to have his physical presence, but if the upcoming games are called as tightly as this one, well, we can get by with our superior skating and skills.
I mentioned in my preview piece about how the top lines for each team could cancel each other out. That's what transpired in Game 3. JT and Marner each got an assist but didn't exactly buzz around the net. And the vaunted Bergeron line has been virtually invisible this series. They got zero points in Game 3. Pastrnak had a couple of decent looks but otherwise, the trio that combined for 30 points in last year's series looked off their game.
If we keep those top guys at bay and dare other guys try to beat us, I like our chances. I'll take Matthews, Johnsson, Kapanen, Moore (who scored in Game 3), Marleau, Ennis and Nylander over their secondary guys like Krejci, Backes, Coyle, DeBrusk and Heinen any day.
Boston is too good of a team to just fold. I fully expect a bounceback in Game 4. Unless Tampa rallies from a 3-0 deficit against CBJ, this could be the only series in the Eastern Conference to go 7 games.
This probably isn't great for my mental health. Watching playoff games can be super stressful, one-goal games even more so.
The Leafs beat the Bruins 3-2 on home ice today to take the 2-1 series lead, with suspended Nazem Kadri watching from the press box.
A year ago, with Kadri serving his suspension, we won Game 3 at home as well, but ended up losing the series in seven games.
Kadri came back to play later in that series in 2018. This year, he has been suspended for the remainder of the series. Could be anywhere from 3 to 5 games.
This game wasn't nearly as physical as Game 2, and that worked in our favor (more on that later). Freddie had another strong game in net and Matthews finally scored his first of the series.
My takeaways:
Johnsson with the Best Game
Johnsson was flying out there all game. He had that extra bounce in his steps/strides, back-checked hard on defense to force turnovers, and made smart decision on the offensive end.
Hockey Gods can be cruel, but they can also be fair. If you play as hard and well as Johnsson did today, you get rewarded with a goal and an assist. That goal stood as GWG. And even without those points, Johnsson would have been one of my three stars.
He made that deft pass to set up Matthews for PPG in the 2nd. A less poised player could have rushed to fire the puck at the net in that situation. But Johnsson hesitated for a split second to freeze Carlo in a mini 2-on-1 and fed the puck to Matthews, who fired home a quick one.
Tavares made a sick, no-look pass between his legs from the boards to set up Johnsson for a pretty backhander.
Amazing what skills can do.
And Johnsson isn't just a one-trick pony. He plays with a certain edge and can battle in the corners. He had a sluggish start to this season but has been a really valuable secondary offensive option. I see a 30-goal season in Johnsson and hopefully it will come in a Leafs uniform (he is an RFA).
Officiating
I felt things got out of control in Game 2 and I blamed it on the refs. The zebras probably heard a word or two from upstairs, and they called a tight game, with a couple of ticky-tacky penalties being called.
Maybe the game wasn't quite as intense, but I liked it that there wasn't any nonsense taking place during stoppages of play.
And the players on both sides generally behaved, too. Just a clean hockey game.
It probably affected the way the Bruins played. Maybe they wanted to play a rough game and take it to us. But knowing how the refs were calling the game, there was no point of risking penalties from their perspective. And we did score two PPGs.
The Bruins looked out of sorts, much like Game 1. I hope it stays that way the rest of the series.
Marner Taking One (Or Two) for the Team
Just watch this.
That's two blocked shots by Mitch in the dying seconds!!
Two great things about this sequence: 1) Mitch didn't get hurt 2) His teammates mobbed him afterward, showing their appreciation. You won't see it in the above clip, but Jake Muzzin even lifted him off the ice in the post-game celly.
After wins, players usually gather around their goalie. But Mitch was the magnet after this one. And deservedly so. He earned every one of those hugs and high-fives and whatever it is that athletes do after victories.
That Marner was on the ice in the final moments of a one-goal game says a lot about the amount of trust he's earned from his coaches. It's like in basketball, too. The five guys on the floor in the defensive possession in the last seconds of a close game are the five guys that a coach trust the most.
It's not that much of a stretch to say Marner has been a better Leaf than Matthews over the past two seasons. Marner has played all 164 games, has expanded his game as a strong penalty killer, and our power play goes through this dynamic playmaker. This is the same guy who saw fourth-line minutes early last season. He scored more than a point a game in the second half of last season (90+ point pace) and did get 94 points this season.
Marner needs a new deal. Hockey people say centers are always more valuable than wingers and by that logic, maybe Marner doesn't deserve as much money as Matthews.
But Marner is that rare winger who drives a line. It says here Tavares doesn't get his 47 goals (37 on even strength) without Mitch on his right side. I think he should earn at least as much as Matthews. He's that important to our team.
Game 4
I think Game 4 is even more crucial for us than for the Bruins. Yeah, sure, if those guys lose, they go home down 3-1 in the series. But for us, if we don't win the next one on home ice, we have to win two games in Boston to take the series. That's a tall order.
So it's a virtual must-win for both sides, rather than a literal must-win.
We have proven during the regular season that we can win games without Kadri. It'd be nice to have his physical presence, but if the upcoming games are called as tightly as this one, well, we can get by with our superior skating and skills.
I mentioned in my preview piece about how the top lines for each team could cancel each other out. That's what transpired in Game 3. JT and Marner each got an assist but didn't exactly buzz around the net. And the vaunted Bergeron line has been virtually invisible this series. They got zero points in Game 3. Pastrnak had a couple of decent looks but otherwise, the trio that combined for 30 points in last year's series looked off their game.
If we keep those top guys at bay and dare other guys try to beat us, I like our chances. I'll take Matthews, Johnsson, Kapanen, Moore (who scored in Game 3), Marleau, Ennis and Nylander over their secondary guys like Krejci, Backes, Coyle, DeBrusk and Heinen any day.
Boston is too good of a team to just fold. I fully expect a bounceback in Game 4. Unless Tampa rallies from a 3-0 deficit against CBJ, this could be the only series in the Eastern Conference to go 7 games.
This probably isn't great for my mental health. Watching playoff games can be super stressful, one-goal games even more so.
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