4 Important Reasons Maple Leafs Could Lose On Lightning

The Toronto Maple Leafs – Tampa Bay Lightning series – positioned as the Round 1 matching showcase – will be analyzed, examined and analyzed to death over the next 48 hours. Two quick, wonderful offenses unleash magicians in the power play. Two underrated defense cores that will have to fight hard and smart, but will have their hands full. If you’re a Maple Leafs (or fan), four important things to keep in mind here: • Andrei Vasilevskiy: So rare is the real No. 1 network reminder in today’s NHL that Vasilevskiy – winner of eight consecutive playoff series, flawless in the playoffs – is a fiery comet thrown into a dim starry sea. That Big Cat enters the post-season with a four-game winning streak and that his counterpart Jack Campbell has a total of only seven games postseason experience. “He’s been playing great since he came back from injury,” said Wayne Simmonds. “He has made the big stop when needed, closed teams and allowed us to play our game.” Campbell must match the best. Depth: “I firmly believe that many series are won and lost in the depths, children,” says Simmonds. He is not wrong. No one can dispute the top of the Leafs these days. It is the aged and / or unproven bottom of the lineup that will need to raise its game. Sure, Lightning lost the valuable Gourde-Coleman-Goodrow unit, but Nick Paul (16 goals), Brandon Hagel (25 goals) and Ross Colton (22 goals) are not too miserable. • Coaching: Sheldon Keefe has done a fantastic job in regular time. Honestly, he should receive more praise for his work (but such is the fate of all coaches who are blessed with talented athletes). What Keefe has not done — yet — is to get over the guy on the other bench when it really matters. Despite being in the top spot in chess matches with John Tortorella and Dominique Ducharme, Keefe has not adapted well enough to win the playoffs. Jon Cooper, the longest-serving NHL bench manager, is a major motivator who knows how to pick up a dressing room and play on the podium. It will also be a challenge. • Bullying: Lightning ranks fourth in success. the Leafs are ranked 24th. Tampa is ranked 22nd in block shots. Toronto is in 29th place. The champions will be physical – very physical – outside the gate. Corey Perry and Pat Maroon will try to upset and intimidate. They will be relentless. How Maple Leafs respond to grinding will be crucial. “I think this is a start, not a retaliation, to be very honest,” says Simmonds. “We want to be the first team to jump in and get bored, whether it hits, erases or drowns our opponent.” 2. If Gary Bettman’s dream of parity lives anywhere, it’s in the Hart Trophy. Ever since Alex Ovechkin left in 2008 and 2009, the NHL has not become a recurring MVP. In the 13 seasons since then, 12 different players have won the award. Only Connor McDavid (2017 and 2021) has won it twice in that time. A unanimous champion last season will be difficult to win this year – even though he broke the race by 123 points. This is the highest total a player has accumulated in the last 29 years (Mark Recchi achieved this number in 1992-93, but it took 84 games to do so). With all due respect to Johnny Gaudreau, Roman Josi, Jonathan Huberdeau, Igor Shesterkin, Kirill Kaprizov, Steven Stamkos, Cale Makar, Leon Draisaitl and so on, I look at my ballot and see a two-horse race between McDavid and Matthew. I asked Huberdeau who he would choose. “That’s a good question,” the Panthers star replied. “Matthews is having a great year, so I would probably give it to him. He is special. I had the opportunity to play in the all-star game with him. You give him the elf, he will score every time. “There are not many children who can reach close to 60 goals”. Apart from himself, who would Matthews choose if he had a say? “There are so many types to choose from. It’s hard. But obviously [Huberdeau] he would be one of the children. It just looks like he’s driving the bus [Florida] along with some other children. “It really stands out”, Matthews considers. “You look at a guy like Josi in Nashville who was just unbelievable – something like that, he just drove the bus for that team. Well, I think there are many types that you can see and choose from. “You know, it seems that McDavid and Dreisaitl are so used to doing this every year, that you lose your mind how good a season these two are having.” This is the most difficult choice and will be the most limited vote since Taylor Hall overtook Nathan MacKinnon in 2018. 3. The Leafs-Lightning series will include the two previous NHL scorers with 60 goals, each of whom participates in the first 100-point campaigns. Here are Matthews’s 60 goals, per press: Wrist shot – 28 Backhander – 9 Snapshot – 8 Tip – 7 Slap – 6 Wrap – 2 He achieved the feat with 17.2 percentage shots, 1.93 goals per 60 (1st), 44 goals of equivalent power (first), 348 shots (first), 16 goals with power-play (third), 10 goals for the victory ( fifth), four empty nets and ping 13 positions / intersections (third). These are the 60 goals of Stamkos in 2011-12, per press: Wrist shot – 32 Slap – 8 Snapshot – 8 Tip – 6 Backhander – 5 Wrap – 1 Stamkos had a higher shooting percentage (19..8), more winners (12), fewer goals in power-play (12) and fewer empty nets (two). He appeared in all 82 games, nine more than Matthews. When we spoke to Stamko about that magical season, he said that he was very proud of his 48 goals of equivalent strength, especially as a player who was once considered an expert in power-play. That season, Evgeni Malkin was far from second in goals of equivalent power, with 38. Matthews’s 44 tonight’s are the closest anyone has come to Stamkos since then, and you should follow Alexander Mogilny’s 49 ESG in 1992-93 to find the last sniper to achieve this mark. 4. A sly news dump by the National Hockey League Players’ Association, revealing its search for a new league leader around 9 p.m. ET Friday amidst a tumultuous last night of the regular season, with the media busy with playoffs. The PA executive board has voted in favor of setting up a search committee to recruit executive successor Donald Fehr. Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Justin Faulk, Sam Gagner, Kyle Okposo, Nate Schmidt and Kevin Shattenkirk will lead the job search. Fehr guided the players in two intense rounds of collective bargaining, with impressive deals with Commissioner Gary Bettman in 2013 and 2020. “Don was terrible. Excellent communication specialist. The PA was very organized and went through difficult times with the negotiations. “These are difficult,” says Jason Spezza. The veteran faced the challenge of getting new players to wrap their heads around the history and complexity of the owner-player relationship. “I think it’s difficult,” Spezza continues. “As the league gets younger, there are fewer and fewer guys who have gone through labor disputes. So I think Don and his team have done a great job. The executive committee has decided on the transition plan to find something, and I think that is a good thing. I think the PA is in good shape at the moment. “We will find the right person to do things and leave the game in good shape, but I think hockey is in great shape overall. We just want to keep building forward.” 5. Fun with numbers. The NHL matches in the first round, but with the final ranking of the teams per percentage point in parentheses: Florida (1) vs. Washington (13) Carolina (3) vs. Boston (10) Toronto (4) vs. Tampa Bay (8) New York (7) Pittsburgh (12) Colorado (2) vs. Nashville (16) Calgary (6) vs. Dallas (15) Minnesota St. Louis (9) Edmonton (11) vs. Los Angeles (14) My point: Oilers in 11th place are the biggest winners here. Not only are they the only team out of the top seven in the NHL with a home advantage, but they have drawn the third weakest opponent in the tournament. A reward for playing in the finest category. Eighth place Lightning has the biggest complaint, dragging Toronto with four seeds. A punishment for the location near the Atlantic Ocean. 6. In these difficult times, it is imperative that we rely on our diligent researchers for important information. Fortunately, people at Time2Play.com have gathered data to find out which NHL fan consumes the most spirits in the good hockey game. According to the site’s survey, Maple Leafs fans drink an average of 3.9 beers on race nights – top of the league. Chicago, Tampa, Colorado and Arizona complete the top five, while New York Rangers fans (1.8) are the most responsible. Full results: 7. Just because Ben Chiarot was hired from the worst to the first does not mean that the Florida Panthers defender cut ties with the Montreal Canadiens. When he heard that Carey Price was finally ready to make his return a few weeks ago, Chiarot made sure to compose a text message. “I told him I would like to be there for him, to be out there with him,” says Chiarot. “In the last two years we have developed a nice bond there, the defense and he. We had a good unit in progress. “I am just happy to be back. And he is such an important player for this city, this franchise. Really important for the championship. He is such a big name, especially as a goalkeeper. “So it was wonderful to see him back.” Price finished second, after Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, in the 2022 NHLPA Player Poll goalkeeper category: 8. Considering that it is also …