Fansided

Predicting the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup Final Series 4-1. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup Final Series 4-1. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – APRIL 25: Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) faces off against Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Zach Hyman (11) during Game 7 of the First Round for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 25, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 7-4. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 25: Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) faces off against Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Zach Hyman (11) during Game 7 of the First Round for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 25, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 7-4. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Boston Bruins

Probably the two most agreed upon teams in terms of rankings this year. This match-up would be a rematch of last year’s first round meeting that the Bruins won in seven games. These teams already hate each other enough, and the Maple Leafs will be plenty hungry for revenge after yet another heartbreak at the hands of the Bruins, but have they improved enough even with their addition of Tavares to finally best them?

Why Toronto is in

The Maple Leafs had the best season their franchise has ever had last year, made the playoffs with relative ease in a top-heavy Atlantic division and now have one of the most lethal offenses that the NHL has to offer with the addition of John Tavares in the offseason.

A center lineup of Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Nazem Kadri is already one of the best in the league, but they’re supported by some of the best winger depth in the NHL as well. Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Patrick Marleau, Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen are all gifted players, and surrounding them with that center corps is trouble for every team in the league. Hopefully William Nylander’s contract negotiations don’t spill over into the season, because it’s not looking good at the moment.

The problem with the Maple Leafs is not one you have to dig very deep to find. It’s their defense. It’s not nearly as terrible as it’s often made out to be, but it still needs some serious work. Morgan Reilly is their most reliable defender, but he needs a better partner than 37-year-old Ron Hainsey to do real damage. Jake Gardiner is their second best defenseman, and he is far too inconsistent to be relied on a nightly basis.

Why Boston is in

The Bruins are the team that is being slept on the most this season despite last season’s revelation of being Stanley Cup contenders, and they’re ready to prove once again that they’re one of the leagues premier teams.

Their first line of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak was the consensus best line in the league last season, and could easily be so again if they stay together. While that line was fantastic, one good line isn’t enough to carry a team. The real reason the Bruins were as dominant as they were was the youth movement that took over through years of tremendous drafting.

That youth is now ready to take a step forward, and perhaps make the team even better than last year. Jake DeBrusk is ready for a top six role next season after finding his game late in the season. Later round picks like Ryan Donato, Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork are developing wonderfully and had wonderful rookie seasons. Charlie McAvoy turned around what would’ve been an aging defense, took the pressure off of 41-year-old Zdeno Chara and could take a huge step into being a Norris candidate in the future.

Who will win

Of all potential series, this is probably the toughest to call. Can the pure firepower of the Maple Leafs overcome the balance of the Bruins? The Bruins ran away with last years series early on and jumped out to 3-1 lead before the Leafs came back to force a Game 7. Logic says that the addition of a superstar like Tavares should push them over the top to best Boston if the series was that close, but is that true in this case?

The problem for the Maple Leafs against Boston was obviously their defense, and as mentioned before, they made no improvements on that front this offseason. Can Nikita Zaitzev bounce back enough to become the top four defender he was signed to be? Can Travis Dermott develop enough to fill that gap? It’s a stretch, but I think they can. A lot went wrong for Toronto in that playoff series on a lot more fronts than just defense. Matthews hit a slump at the wrong time, Andersen let some bad goals in at the wrong time and they couldn’t figure out how to stop the Bruins’ first line.

There’s no way the Leafs keep this defense past the trade deadline, and if they fix the mistakes they made against Boston last year, the series would be theirs to lose.

Maple Leafs over Bruins in seven games

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