What a night for Big Papi and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The now three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner tallied the game winner in the third period, adding two assists as the Leafs salvaged a split in Boston. Plain and simple, it was another signature playoff moment for one of the top players in the game right now. Full stop. Carter Hutton filled in for Jay Rosehill on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We kicked off the show by discussing the first few days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and how great they’ve been. Most importantly, all the Canadian teams participating are off to good sta ..read more

While William Nylander may force Sheldon Keefe to take out one of his 12 forwards from the Maple Leafs Game 2 victory over the Boston Bruins, Keefe also needs to consider taking Timothy Liljegren out of the lineup. Liljegren was by far the Maple Leafs’ worst defenceman in Game 2. There were times when the puck would wind up on his stick and he’d decide to try and rim it far side to absolutely nobody or make a horrible read trying to force a pass to his partner, Joel Edmundson, instead of either rushing with it or advancing it up the ice. Liljegren played 20:44 in Game 2 and didn’t record a hit ..read more

It wasn’t the result they wanted in Game 1, losing 5-1, but the Toronto Maple Leafs entered TD Garden for game two last night looking to bounce back, pick up the win on the road and head back to Toronto with a series split with games three and four coming up. First period: One thing Toronto hadn’t done all season long, including in Game 1 of this series, was hold a lead in a game against the Bruins. In all four regular season games and Saturday night, the game was tied or Boston holding the lead. If Toronto wanted to come away with the win in game two, they needed to play with a lead at some p ..read more

If you watched the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Game 2 effort against the Boston Bruins, you would think Auston Matthews spotted a bat signal in the sky on Tuesday night. After he and the rest of the team took a ton of heat for a listless 5-1 loss in Game 1, Matthews stepped up and made sure the Leafs didn’t go home without a slice of the pie. He wasn’t the only factor in the win, obviously – Ilya Samsonov had an excellent bounce-back game after an underwhelming start on Saturday, and the unit as a whole impressed as they shut down the Bruins in the final five minutes of the game. But, when you watch ..read more

Auston Matthews authored the defining postseason performance of his career, Ilya Samsonov played his best game in a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform and the series is tied at one apiece. Matthews’ tour-de-force performance against the Boston Bruins couldn’t have come at a better time, he hadn’t compiled a signature playoff game until tonight. Toronto’s proverbial back was against the wall while William Nylander remained out with a mysterious injury. There is no need for further preamble! Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 win over the Bruins in Game 2. Auston Matthews and Ilya ..read more

Game One was rough but if you were told the Maple Leafs would split the games in Boston to start the series, you’d probably take it. That’s exactly what they did and at least offensively it was on the back of Auston Matthews who picked up the game-winning goal and two primary assists. If there is a running theme to the commentary on the Leafs in the playoffs it is that Toronto needs its star players to be their best players. Game One didn’t have that. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner brought preseason energy to that game and at least with Matthews there seemed to be an awakening in Game Two. A ..read more

The Leafs will look to respond to being thoroughly dominated in Game 1 on Monday. Garnering a split in Boston would still be a positive result for the first two games, which seems easy to forget given the way Game One went. Oddsmakers have given respect to the way that the Bruins dominated the opening matchup by making the Bruins a -150 favourite in Game 2 after they were only a -130 favourite in Game One. I’ll outline the relevant game notes below, as well as hand out my best bet. Maple Leafs vs Bruins Odds Maple Leafs Moneyline Odds: +125 Bruins Moneyline Odds: -150 Puck Line Odds: Maple Le ..read more

Following a disappointing 5-1 loss in Game 1, the Leafs will look to salvage a split in Boston on Monday night. We kicked off the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take by dissecting what turned out to be a very crazy first weekend of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Home teams are 6-0 so far, a stat the Leafs direly need to change, or they’ll be in big-time trouble. Plain and simple. Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, in the first segment of the show, we broke down Saturday night’s loss. It was ugly. Sadly, the formula for another Maple Leafs postseason loss was all too familiar to the fans and media member ..read more

All eyes were on the Maple Leafs practice this morning to determine how likely it is that William Nylander is playing.  Let’s start there: Sheldon Keefe leaves the door open to William Nylander potentially playing tonight: "We'll see how he feels here the rest of the day here and make a decision." — Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 22, 2024 William Nylander rotated in for Robertson on third line during second drill Seems to be in good spirits @TSN_Edge pic.twitter.com/esDVfnMXe7 — Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 22, 2024 So based on Sheldon Keefe being comfortable with how Nyl ..read more

The balance of a seven-game series swings exponentially and the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a daunting deficit ahead of their second game against the Boston Bruins upon being skated off the ice in a 5-1 defeat Saturday. This is the most crucial season of the Auston Matthews era, as a top-heavy Maple Leafs team is once again facing a referendum on team-building, to say nothing of their legacy writ large, backed into a corner against a Bruins team that has owned them both pragmatically and psychologically. Matthews is in line to win his second Hart Trophy in three years. He’s submitted the be ..read more