The Stanley Cup playoffs are on the horizon. The matchups are set, and the schedule has been unveiled for the first two games of each series starting Monday night.
For some teams, it's a good reflection of the accomplishments they had during the regular season and just making it to the postseason. But for others, according to TSN's Bryan Hayes and Kara Wagland, it's "Cup or Bust." Especially the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals not making the playoffs this year, Boston and Toronto now hold the longest streak of consecutive postseason appearances at seven. In that run, the Leafs have not made it out of the first round, while the Bruins only lost twice in the first round and made it to the finals once.
The Bruins will host the Florida Panthers, and Toronto will host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston's regular season series against the Panthers was 2-1-1 in its favor. The Leafs defeated Tampa in two of the three regular-season matchups. However, Tampa has won the Stanley Cup twice in the last three years.
So, which of the two teams has the most pressure on them?
Hayes said what the Leafs have done in the regular season has been elite, but Wagland said the regular season doesn't really matter, and all you can really do is "hang your hat on mediocrity." Boston is another story.
"Home ice is great, and what Boston did is fantastic, but can you imagine after Boston had the regular season they did, they don't win the Stanley Cup?" Wagland said. "For a team that has been that good in the regular season; it's not even about winning a couple of rounds. ... What they've accomplished in the regular season, it would be a little tarnished if they can't (win the cup)."
Hayes agreed the pressure is on the Bruins to win 16 more games and hoist the Cup at the end because that is the only way they will be remembered as an "all-time great team." But said the Leafs have to get out of the first round to be legitimate Cup contenders.
"The whole thing is they haven't won a round. They don't know how to do it," Hayes said. "Once they've done it, I would think, if anything, the expectations get higher regardless of who they play next because it should be a monkey off the back situation.
"... If this group just can't do it, ... if the Leafs cannot get it done, then the core players are incapable of winning. Collectively they are incapable of winning."
Wagland agreed the Leafs need to get out of the first round by defeating the team that eliminated them last year, but who could be waiting for them in the conference semifinals is a team that has defeated them twice in the past 10 years.
"They certainly need to make it past the first round," Wagland said. "But I just don't see them making it through Boston."
The Bruins and Leafs have had two epic battles, 2013 and 2019, that Boston has come out on top defeating Toronto in seven games, and in both years, the Bruins advanced to the finals. Boston lost to the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, respectively, but the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and haven't won a single playoff series since 2004.
Still, at least one former NHLer believes Toronto can beat Boston this year and end their hopes of capturing Stanley Cup number seven. Time will tell if the Bruins can continue adding their names to the NHL history books or if Toronto can finally win a playoff series. One thing is for sure, it's time to buckle up because white-knuckled hockey begins on Monday.
