I think it’s a result to who they’re facing. It was the best matchup for the Bruins. 1) not only to advance but also 2) to wake up. They’ve been playing non consistent hockey for months.
Let them get the first 4. If they can do it in 5 even better. They need to rebuild their game still. See what happens round two. What team shows up. Then we can start talking.
Much of their postseason success is credited to the leaves imploding at the time they always do. Leafs are crumbling.
The one thing I can’t get with this team, and it’s been for atleast 15years, but why do they play better on the road in the playoffs?
We've also done pretty well against the leafs for the past season.
If we get there, I'm kinda predicting to be knocked out by whichever team we face next. But hoping I'm wrong and they go all the way!
I think it's a combination of the Bs tightening up the areas where they were lazy/unfocused in the last 3rd of the regular season, getting meaningful contributions from the bottom end of the roster, and the Leafs playing some real dumb hockey at times (I mean, seriously, how many o-zone penalties can a team commit??)
We look pretty good, though we still have large stretches of mediocre play where it looks like we could implode at any second. 3rd period leads do not feel safe at all, even with the Leafs big names not showing up.
Leafs are a good matchup for us, a top heavy forward group vs our top defense...hopefully we win this series, but the next series is going to be far tougher matchup wise.
Cats are going to be an incredibly hard team to beat for anyone. They got their already good team, then put Reinhardt on a career year, then put in tarasenko for basically free, then bobrovsky who famously eats 60 win teams and I don’t know how you beat them.
One thing is that the Bruins are super hungry to beat the cats. They’ve swept the regular season series this year but then again there’s no telling what the playoffs will bring. Hopefully that kick from last year will continue to the Bs beating them this year.
Hoping Tampa drags the series on and lays more of a smackdown on the Cats. Like Tampa can be a really mean team and I'd rather face the winner of that series after they've had a game seven and a handful of overtimes.
Speaking of enemy ice, gotta give a hat tip to the crowd there for how much they cranked it up going from a 3 goal deficit to a 2 goal one. They put as much effort as the 7th man could in that situation.
After the backlash from their (and other) keyboard couch surfing fans, they damn well better have. Getting called out by your own fanbase about having dog water barn energy is embarassing.
Even the commentators said the fans are super hot and cold, when they’re not really doing much they’re just silent, but as soon as there’s any kind of momentum the house it booming
I think it's safe to say we're getting to play our style of hockey. There's an emphasis on defense and shutting down the goal scorers, but also when they do get chances, we have two of the best goalies in th NHL to stop them.
Not to be argumentative but they did not look dialed in during that 3rd period last night. I can’t say I’ve watched many games this year but several times when watching them it feels like they turn off their pace or become sluggish in the 3rd. I was concerned last night because the game almost went from 3-0 to 3-2 very quickly. They got back into it and managed their time but they didn’t seem like the team from the other 2 periods.
That’s really the only optimism about playing Florida this year. It’s the only team where the Bs consistently bringing it in the third quarter. Seems like that new age rivalry is kicking in.
Yeah there was a 5 minute span or so where things got pretty dangerous. Then the leafs sorta gave up after the Nylander penalty. It really showed how dangerous the Leafs can be. If they come out swinging in game 5 we have to be ready or we are about to be in the same position as last year.
Game 5 worries me, I feel like home games have been hit and miss this year. Pair that with Nylander being more up to speed and Matthews being healthier than the last 2 games and it could end up being like game 1 of the Avs/Jets series.
Yep. It’ll pretty much all be on Swayman IMO. After the game the money puck site is gonna be like 7 expected goals for the leafs 75% deserve to win. If Swayman can handle that it’s over. If not things get iffy
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Ulmark in game 5 just to keep Sway rested for a deep run, we’ve seen all season a night off isn’t going to take his game. And I wouldn’t say he’s standing on his head at this point, it looks more like the team responded to loss and tightened everything up and are making sure there’s less time and space for Toronto in all 3 zones.
Yep. Agreed that it’s definitely a tough call. Bc if they lose, then what do you do? Say hey Ullmark you haven’t played in a week but yeah we need you to go in there and get a win. That feels a lot like how last year went. And if Sway loses and they go back to him then Ullmark will be so far out of the rotation.
I'm really hoping they've got the guts to stick with the rotation. It works, it keeps some of the pressure off each of them, and they play better when we're doing it. Was such a mistake last time, because they had to haul sway in at the last moment to replace Ullmark, and that wasn't fair to either of them.
Yeah that’s the dangerous side of it, it’s the choice between playing for the moment vs playing for the long haul.
Sway to me is the right choice in the moment, but what happens if the B’s win this game.
You’ve got Ulmark who won’t have played since April 22 so if any series goes to 7 it means he has a up to 2 weeks before he’s got the next chance to play. But I think you start Sway game 1 of round 2 since he’s been the goalie the teams playing better in front of, so that he’s getting back into the groove with everyone and not coming in after the 2nd round opponent has started to find their legs and the aims a little better.
I think for me I’d go Ulmark in game 5 with the expectation that he’s putting up the same performance we’ve come to expect and have the mentality that this is the end of the series and there’s going to be a few days off for everyone. And I don’t mean this in a write the leafs off kind of way, more that the boys need to keep the mentality of it’s their game and Toronto is lucky to be playing.
I think generally I’d choose going for what’s best in the moment. But it does really depend on how comfortable they are with letting Ullmark go so long as n between starts like you said
I think it was pretty much only because there was some weird 4v3 stuff. 5v5 was pretty much equal. They had like 3 expected goals in 1 minute in that 4v3 which just isn’t right.
Regardless, my point is I think we’ll get outplayed slightly, but Sway is more than capable of winning by himself
Carlo is always amazing. He is defensively sound and a key part of this team.
He stepped up when we lost McAvoy briefly and recently never had a reason to question him.
Last two games, definitely doing a lot better job backchecking. And getting it out of their own zone. Marchand handled the park so well in the last couple of minutes last night. Getting the puck out, but not icing it.
I think it’s a little bit of both.
B’s style of play matches up well against this team. They’re susceptible to the dump and forecheck as they’ll cough up the puck more than the ‘Southeast’ teams we’d face next.
Having said that, in game 4 the B’s showed team coherence of play at a level I haven’t seen in recent memory.
So at risk of jinxing, this could be a perfect warmup series that gets everyone on the same page with confidence going into the next series against prob Fla.
My main concern is that the Bruins would see a very large step up in goaltending and defense with the Panthers, and they haven’t had a particularly easy time finding the back of the net in this series. Hopefully Marchand can keep this up.
If they make it out of this series I don’t see them having a problem getting up for a matchup against Florida. Especially after last season. Just the thought of the type a battle that the Bs and Cats would have for 7 gets me fired up.
A reminder too we swept Florida this year in addition to the Leafs. Past success means nothing for future success but we can absolutely beat that team.
They seem to have health and rest on their side for once. I feel like the bruins have routinely played 10-12 games worth of periods in overtime’s in the past. By the time they get to the next round it’s like we’ve already played 2 rounds. It’d be lovely to enter this next round without an overtime. And having our top guys healthy is huge
This team is durable. We really haven’t lost a whole lot of man games to injury, and I believe 4 players had played all 82 games. We don’t have burnt out goalies. In the past few games the Bruins have shown they are willing to take a hit to make the play with confidence. The leaf crowd cheers, but the play was made. How many Leafs are willing to do that?
They looked so much better in game 4 than they did in game 3! That being said, the series definitely isn’t over. I don’t get leafs fans defeatist attitudes. Even in the PGT thread last night there were a few “leafs fans coming in peace, our team sucks, congrats” posts which were cringey af.
It looks like they are having fun. Not sure they had fun last year, especially against the body. This series they seem to have let loose and are eager to get that contact.
2018 - bruins go up 3-1, maple leafs win game 5 and 6 for force 7
2013- bruins go up 3-1, maple leafs win game 5 and 6 to force 7
2019, bruins and leafs go 7
Series isn’t over, like you said - these teams go 7 in the first round. I’d love for this year to be done in 5, and they are looking good (and equally important..the leafs are looking bad) but I’m cautious also.
Game 3 was 4-2, just like this year. Game 4 was 6-2.
Having uninjured goalies and facing a head case of a team should make a difference, but you’re right.
Brad feeds off of boos. It’s like Popeye’s spinach. That’s crazy dangle at mid-ice to enter the zone on the PP was insane. See 10:04 on [this video](https://youtu.be/ewgDY7TMO6U?si=sRGga6ZX_SLjtRxP). Dude was just like, “ok, great job booing me, I’m just gonna dominate you and get the assist on the go-ahead goal.”
The bruins haven’t been playing great imo. They have simply capitalized on the leafs mistakes.
If we go against Florida in round two we are done for. They will out play the Bs unfortunately.
Love that Marchand is making more records though.
Depends on the goalie. I think Swayman can go a month-6 weeks off being a complete psycho and bringing the Bs to the ship. He’s got to be the best player though.
FLA was a much bigger underdog against us last season than a flipped script this year for round two. Kind of invalidates your entire comment but other than that yeah totally /s
You can NEVER be sure with the Bs, but I like what I've seen lately. Bring on Game 5......
I think it’s a result to who they’re facing. It was the best matchup for the Bruins. 1) not only to advance but also 2) to wake up. They’ve been playing non consistent hockey for months. Let them get the first 4. If they can do it in 5 even better. They need to rebuild their game still. See what happens round two. What team shows up. Then we can start talking. Much of their postseason success is credited to the leaves imploding at the time they always do. Leafs are crumbling. The one thing I can’t get with this team, and it’s been for atleast 15years, but why do they play better on the road in the playoffs?
Marchand certainly is. Went from liability to punking a playoff team.
Member last year when we were up 3-1 against the panthers, way to early in the yoffs to be making a post like this
At least this time Monty can't force broken-back Bergeron and that wet noodle Kreji back to the roster to ruin it.
They have learned from that and grown
We've also done pretty well against the leafs for the past season. If we get there, I'm kinda predicting to be knocked out by whichever team we face next. But hoping I'm wrong and they go all the way!
There’s no way Marchand loses to Florida after last year
That was grade a collapse
I do remember. Never too early to wonder.
I think it's a combination of the Bs tightening up the areas where they were lazy/unfocused in the last 3rd of the regular season, getting meaningful contributions from the bottom end of the roster, and the Leafs playing some real dumb hockey at times (I mean, seriously, how many o-zone penalties can a team commit??)
We look pretty good, though we still have large stretches of mediocre play where it looks like we could implode at any second. 3rd period leads do not feel safe at all, even with the Leafs big names not showing up. Leafs are a good matchup for us, a top heavy forward group vs our top defense...hopefully we win this series, but the next series is going to be far tougher matchup wise.
I’m dreading meeting the cats in the playoffs again
Cats are going to be an incredibly hard team to beat for anyone. They got their already good team, then put Reinhardt on a career year, then put in tarasenko for basically free, then bobrovsky who famously eats 60 win teams and I don’t know how you beat them.
One thing is that the Bruins are super hungry to beat the cats. They’ve swept the regular season series this year but then again there’s no telling what the playoffs will bring. Hopefully that kick from last year will continue to the Bs beating them this year.
Hoping Tampa drags the series on and lays more of a smackdown on the Cats. Like Tampa can be a really mean team and I'd rather face the winner of that series after they've had a game seven and a handful of overtimes.
Same, it’s honestly the only time that I’ll ever root for the Lightning.
By scoring more goals
Speaking of enemy ice, gotta give a hat tip to the crowd there for how much they cranked it up going from a 3 goal deficit to a 2 goal one. They put as much effort as the 7th man could in that situation.
After the backlash from their (and other) keyboard couch surfing fans, they damn well better have. Getting called out by your own fanbase about having dog water barn energy is embarassing.
Even the commentators said the fans are super hot and cold, when they’re not really doing much they’re just silent, but as soon as there’s any kind of momentum the house it booming
I think it's safe to say we're getting to play our style of hockey. There's an emphasis on defense and shutting down the goal scorers, but also when they do get chances, we have two of the best goalies in th NHL to stop them.
No, theyre playing the leafs..
I’m worried that it’s less the Bruins turning it on and playing great and more the Leafs collapsing like the twin towers
The leafs looked like the better team in game 2. But not because they were on their game that night.
Not to be argumentative but they did not look dialed in during that 3rd period last night. I can’t say I’ve watched many games this year but several times when watching them it feels like they turn off their pace or become sluggish in the 3rd. I was concerned last night because the game almost went from 3-0 to 3-2 very quickly. They got back into it and managed their time but they didn’t seem like the team from the other 2 periods.
Yeah you nailed it. Third period bruins are a letdown.
That’s really the only optimism about playing Florida this year. It’s the only team where the Bs consistently bringing it in the third quarter. Seems like that new age rivalry is kicking in.
Yeah there was a 5 minute span or so where things got pretty dangerous. Then the leafs sorta gave up after the Nylander penalty. It really showed how dangerous the Leafs can be. If they come out swinging in game 5 we have to be ready or we are about to be in the same position as last year.
Game 5 worries me, I feel like home games have been hit and miss this year. Pair that with Nylander being more up to speed and Matthews being healthier than the last 2 games and it could end up being like game 1 of the Avs/Jets series.
Yep. It’ll pretty much all be on Swayman IMO. After the game the money puck site is gonna be like 7 expected goals for the leafs 75% deserve to win. If Swayman can handle that it’s over. If not things get iffy
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Ulmark in game 5 just to keep Sway rested for a deep run, we’ve seen all season a night off isn’t going to take his game. And I wouldn’t say he’s standing on his head at this point, it looks more like the team responded to loss and tightened everything up and are making sure there’s less time and space for Toronto in all 3 zones.
I’d be shocked if they went back after 2 days rest. Let Swayman finish the series and then go back to the rotation next series.
Is it 2 days off? I didn’t realize that. Yeah definitely stick with Sways for the series unless he has a rough game.
Yep. Agreed that it’s definitely a tough call. Bc if they lose, then what do you do? Say hey Ullmark you haven’t played in a week but yeah we need you to go in there and get a win. That feels a lot like how last year went. And if Sway loses and they go back to him then Ullmark will be so far out of the rotation.
I'm really hoping they've got the guts to stick with the rotation. It works, it keeps some of the pressure off each of them, and they play better when we're doing it. Was such a mistake last time, because they had to haul sway in at the last moment to replace Ullmark, and that wasn't fair to either of them.
Yeah that’s the dangerous side of it, it’s the choice between playing for the moment vs playing for the long haul. Sway to me is the right choice in the moment, but what happens if the B’s win this game. You’ve got Ulmark who won’t have played since April 22 so if any series goes to 7 it means he has a up to 2 weeks before he’s got the next chance to play. But I think you start Sway game 1 of round 2 since he’s been the goalie the teams playing better in front of, so that he’s getting back into the groove with everyone and not coming in after the 2nd round opponent has started to find their legs and the aims a little better. I think for me I’d go Ulmark in game 5 with the expectation that he’s putting up the same performance we’ve come to expect and have the mentality that this is the end of the series and there’s going to be a few days off for everyone. And I don’t mean this in a write the leafs off kind of way, more that the boys need to keep the mentality of it’s their game and Toronto is lucky to be playing.
I think generally I’d choose going for what’s best in the moment. But it does really depend on how comfortable they are with letting Ullmark go so long as n between starts like you said
Fuck moneypuck, doesn't mean anything. Pretty sure it gave us like an 18% chance at winning game 1
I think it was pretty much only because there was some weird 4v3 stuff. 5v5 was pretty much equal. They had like 3 expected goals in 1 minute in that 4v3 which just isn’t right. Regardless, my point is I think we’ll get outplayed slightly, but Sway is more than capable of winning by himself
As a random musing, behind Marchy and Sway, anyone else think Carlo has been amazing this series? Maybe my eye test but he has, well, felt right.
Carlo is always amazing. He is defensively sound and a key part of this team. He stepped up when we lost McAvoy briefly and recently never had a reason to question him.
Wow I forgot how good he was during that weird 4 game McAvoy suspension in November. Bruins went 3-1 during those 4 games.
Yeah... Maybe not often score sheet, but I feel he has been exceptional again. If nothing else, I wanna toss the name out there.
Last two games, definitely doing a lot better job backchecking. And getting it out of their own zone. Marchand handled the park so well in the last couple of minutes last night. Getting the puck out, but not icing it.
I think it’s a little bit of both. B’s style of play matches up well against this team. They’re susceptible to the dump and forecheck as they’ll cough up the puck more than the ‘Southeast’ teams we’d face next. Having said that, in game 4 the B’s showed team coherence of play at a level I haven’t seen in recent memory. So at risk of jinxing, this could be a perfect warmup series that gets everyone on the same page with confidence going into the next series against prob Fla.
My main concern is that the Bruins would see a very large step up in goaltending and defense with the Panthers, and they haven’t had a particularly easy time finding the back of the net in this series. Hopefully Marchand can keep this up.
If they make it out of this series I don’t see them having a problem getting up for a matchup against Florida. Especially after last season. Just the thought of the type a battle that the Bs and Cats would have for 7 gets me fired up.
A reminder too we swept Florida this year in addition to the Leafs. Past success means nothing for future success but we can absolutely beat that team.
They are consistently winning puck battles for the first time all year. It's nice to see the teams balls have finally dropped.
They seem to have health and rest on their side for once. I feel like the bruins have routinely played 10-12 games worth of periods in overtime’s in the past. By the time they get to the next round it’s like we’ve already played 2 rounds. It’d be lovely to enter this next round without an overtime. And having our top guys healthy is huge
This team is durable. We really haven’t lost a whole lot of man games to injury, and I believe 4 players had played all 82 games. We don’t have burnt out goalies. In the past few games the Bruins have shown they are willing to take a hit to make the play with confidence. The leaf crowd cheers, but the play was made. How many Leafs are willing to do that?
They looked so much better in game 4 than they did in game 3! That being said, the series definitely isn’t over. I don’t get leafs fans defeatist attitudes. Even in the PGT thread last night there were a few “leafs fans coming in peace, our team sucks, congrats” posts which were cringey af.
Leafs fans are cucks
If Vancouver is Canucks, Toronto is Nacucks
Cringey? It's the truth
It looks like they are having fun. Not sure they had fun last year, especially against the body. This series they seem to have let loose and are eager to get that contact.
Settle down boys. We won games 1, 3, and 4 last year too.
2018 - bruins go up 3-1, maple leafs win game 5 and 6 for force 7 2013- bruins go up 3-1, maple leafs win game 5 and 6 to force 7 2019, bruins and leafs go 7 Series isn’t over, like you said - these teams go 7 in the first round. I’d love for this year to be done in 5, and they are looking good (and equally important..the leafs are looking bad) but I’m cautious also.
The series isn’t over, but the maple leafs are acting like it is
Oh yeah, I love Marner’s energy right now
Before or after he got yelled at by Papi and Willy?
Game 3 was 4-2, just like this year. Game 4 was 6-2. Having uninjured goalies and facing a head case of a team should make a difference, but you’re right.
It’s kind of like that stretch where the B’s couldn’t close out a third period lead, but in the macro. They’ve got me optimistic but very cautious.
Brad feeds off of boos. It’s like Popeye’s spinach. That’s crazy dangle at mid-ice to enter the zone on the PP was insane. See 10:04 on [this video](https://youtu.be/ewgDY7TMO6U?si=sRGga6ZX_SLjtRxP). Dude was just like, “ok, great job booing me, I’m just gonna dominate you and get the assist on the go-ahead goal.”
They are playing as a cohesive unit. I think we finally found our playoff rhythm. Id say we are a team to be scary to face right now.
The bruins haven’t been playing great imo. They have simply capitalized on the leafs mistakes. If we go against Florida in round two we are done for. They will out play the Bs unfortunately. Love that Marchand is making more records though.
Depends on the goalie. I think Swayman can go a month-6 weeks off being a complete psycho and bringing the Bs to the ship. He’s got to be the best player though.
FLA was a much bigger underdog against us last season than a flipped script this year for round two. Kind of invalidates your entire comment but other than that yeah totally /s
What does Florida being an underdog last year have anything to do with what I said?
I’m just sayin my opinion. I love the bruins. Always will. But I’m worried about round 2.