The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to face off against the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The highly anticipated matchup was confirmed after the Bruins secured their spot in the playoffs with a win over the New York Islanders on Monday night.
The Maple Leafs, who finished the regular season with a record of 35-14-7, will have home-ice advantage in the series. This will be the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs since 2019, when the Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs in a dramatic Game 7.
Both teams have a strong history in the playoffs, with the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 and the Maple Leafs making it to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. The Bruins also have a slight edge over the Maple Leafs in their regular season matchups, winning five out of the seven games played this season.
The Maple Leafs will be looking to their star players, including Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares, to lead them to victory. The Bruins, on the other hand, will rely on their veteran players such as Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Tuukka Rask to guide them to another playoff run.
The series is expected to be a highly competitive and intense battle between two talented teams. The Maple Leafs will have to bring their A-game if they want to advance to the next round, as the Bruins are known for their physical and aggressive style of play.
Fans of both teams are eagerly anticipating the start of the series, which is set to begin on May 20th. The Maple Leafs will have the home-ice advantage for the first two games, with the series then shifting to Boston for the next two games.
The winner of this series will move on to face either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Washington Capitals in the second round of the playoffs. With the stakes high and the competition fierce, it is sure to be an exciting and nail-biting series between the Maple Leafs and the Bruins.
