How Maple Leafs Channeling ‘Lion King’ For Game 2 Vs. Bruins
TD Garden might as well be the hyena pit for the Leafs
There wasn’t much Saturday night to suggest the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to reverse their unfortunate Stanley Cup playoffs trend vs. the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins ran the Leafs out of TD Garden in the opener of their first-round series, as Boston cruised to a 5-1 win in front of its home crowd. The fact of the matter, though, is the setback was just one of potential seven games in the series, and the Leafs don’t seem to have too many worries about how things went Saturday night.
Some might say Toronto has no worries, adopting a problem-free philosophy ahead of Monday night’s Game 2.
“Almost the hakuna matata kind of motto,” Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves told reporters Sunday, per Sportsnet, of course referring to 1994’s classic animated film “The Lion King.”
Reaves added: “You can’t be worried about what happened in the past. You just got to look forward.”
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Clearly, the Maple Leafs need to play more disciplined. Toronto earned its parade to the penalty box all night in Game 1, and the previously stagnant Bruins power play came alive at an inopportune time for Toronto. While Reaves’ mindset makes sense in a big-picture sense, there was plenty for Toronto to feel good about from the opener. The Leafs largely carried play five-on-five, as evidenced by a 2.97 expected goals for, a number that is the highest among any team this past weekend.
That only gets you so far, though. The Bruins were far more disciplined, made the most of their opportunities and did a lot of the little things it takes to win playoff games. On top of that, Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman stood on his head and delivered one of his best performances of the season. The right team won. But the Leafs live.
Reaves and Toronto will try to prove Game 1 was a passing craze when they get their chance to ascend to the throne and leave a scar on the Bruins in Game 2 at the Garden on Monday night. NESN’s coverage at 6 p.m. ET.
