As the game heat up on the ice between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, so are things off the ice. And on Thursday’s day-off between games, head coaches and players from both clubs have taken a few jabs at each other. It started with Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery, who commented about Max Domi’s bump on Jeremy Swayman during a TV timeout in Game 2. As Swayman skated towards the Bruins bench, both players’ shoulders collided, sending Swayman to the ice, sometime Domi brushed off say both players were “just skating.” Montgomery, meanwhile, felt there was more to it. “When Domi goes o ..read more

Bob Cole, the legendary Hockey Night in Canada announcer, died at 90 Wednesday night, surrounded by his family. Cole, to many is the defining voice of hockey. It’s hard to imagine growing up as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, or as a hockey fan generally, without hearing Cole’s booming intonation searing into your memories. Cole was Hockey Night in Canada’s lead announcer from 1980-2008, often paired on Maple Leafs broadcasts and he brought a genuine level of enthusiasm, excitement and a sense for the occasion that hasn’t been replicated on Canadian airwaves since. He essentially became the voice o ..read more

Special teams and goaltending —that was the story of Game 3. Brad Marchand notched two goals and an assist as the Bruins grabbed 2-1 series lead with a 4-2 victory at Scotiabank Arena. We kicked off the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take by discussing the quiet crowd. Firstly, good on legendary Leafs broadcaster Joe Bowen for calling like it was. It’s disappointing, and quite frankly, it’s just not good enough. You could hear a pin drop in that arena in the second and third period. It’s the playoffs, let’s get active! Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, we dove into all the major discussion points ..read more

There have been few stories stranger from the first round of the playoffs beyond William Nylander’s absence from the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup. Seemingly healthy for Game 82 of the regular season on April 17th last Wednesday, he woke up the next morning ailing, and unable to suit up for any of the first three games of the playoffs. And while the Maple Leafs have surely missed his presence in the lineup, and the organization has remained surprisingly tight-lipped, we finally have answers as to what has gone wrong for the winger. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Thursday morning that Nyla ..read more

Another night without William Nylander. Is that going to be the excuse this year for the Leafs? Will it be that Mitch Marner was rushed back from a high ankle sprain? Or is it just a one-game deficit and it’s still premature to write off the Leafs given that they hung with the Bruins for most of the game? Here’s a look at the Game 3 +’s and -‘s that hint at whether optimism is still allowed. +plus Marner picking up a point is a plus. The season could not have ended any worse for Mitch and the first two games of the playoffs were a continuation of Marner not showing up in the playoffs. I’m not ..read more

It was important for the Maple Leafs to leave Boston with a series split after dropping game one 5-1. With that win in their back pocket, they headed home to Toronto with Games 3 and 4 on the schedule with a chance to take advantage of home ice last night. First period: Getting the series split in Boston even before Game 1 was the most realistic worst-case scenario for the Maple Leafs because sweeping them seemed way too unrealistic, and Toronto couldn’t go 0-2 on the road. Luckily, after dropping game one 5-1, Toronto bounced back in a big way, taking game two by a score of 3-2 before heading ..read more

Scotiabank Arena has a reputation of having the same vibes as a library throughout Toronto Maple Leafs’ regular season home games and during Game 3 against the Boston Bruins, at times, you could hear a pin drop. It appears the fact the Stanley Cup Playoffs have started hasn’t ignited the energy of the attending fan base. How bad was it? So bad, that legendary play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen decided to call the fans out on social media after the game. The idea of going To any sporting event To support the home team is to Be PRO ACTIVE!!! Give the team energy when they need it Not sitting down ..read more

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand engineered a Game 3 performance that will perhaps last forever in the minds of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marchand authored a two-goal, three-assist performance, leading the Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 3. He was the game’s best player — if you want to make an argument in Jeremy Swayman’s favour, we won’t push back — but his theatrics away from the puck certainly caught the Maple Leafs’ attention. During Boston’s first goal, Marchand got tangled with Tyler Bertuzzi in the neutral zone while Trent Frederic raced down and beat Ilya Samson ..read more

Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins were expected to deliver an urgent response after getting called out by their head coach Jim Montgomery. Marchand complimented this year’s Maple Leafs group, believing the 2024 iteration had separated itself from teams of the past in large part due to their physicality. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Marchand submitted one of the best performances of his career, leading the Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 3, tipping the balance back in his team’s favour. Here are six takeaways from the Bruins’ 4-2 victory over the ..read more

As Brad Marchand alluded to following Game 2, this iteration of the Leafs is built differently and presents different challenges than in years past, but many of the same old issues surfaced as they dropped Game 3 to Boston by a score of 4-2. It was a tightly contested affair in the early going, and the Leafs looked shaky off the opening faceoff, but they seemed to settle in after killing off an early penalty to Simon Benoit for shooting the puck over the glass just 40 seconds into the game. It was a positive step for a unit that has been a point of concern for Sheldon Keefe and his staff all s ..read more