[MUSIC] Yeah, really looking forward to playing with us. Start of the season, that's what you want. You want an opportunity to play for a cup. Toronto's going to be an extremely tough match up. Obviously, a ton of firepower. Addison, some toughness with the deadline. Playing much harder, tougher brand hockey. So it's going to be a great match up. Should be fun, and we're excited to get going. [MUSIC] >> Fan Morning Show Sports at 5-9 in the fan, Ben Anis. Brent Gunning, that was Brad Marchin, as if you didn't know. >> Yeah, ready for a respect off. >> I respect you. >> I respect you. >> John Cooper is the king. >> Yeah. >> You can't. >> That's a good attempt. >> I don't think Jim Montgomery has it in him. He just seems like a little more gruff fellows. We're going to play a hockey game. Maybe I'm going to learn something about him in this series, I don't know. But I don't think you're getting the little a squeeze from him like you did from Cooper. >> And I got to be honest, I'm okay with that. >> Yeah, and Marchin said they added some toughness to the deadline. I suppose, and like Labushkin and Edmondson. The toughness was, the real toughness was added last night's season. >> Was the friendships we made along the way? >> Yeah, no, no, no. >> Was the power play? >> No, the power play is the toughness. >> Incorrect. >> Okay, especially not this year. >> Yeah, no. >> The way it's gone, the second half of the season. It's guys playing significant minutes on the top line. >> That are capable of putting the puck in the back of the net and assisting to create that goal, but also aren't getting pushed around. And in fact, are doing some of the pushing in Max Doming and Tyler Bertuzzi. Is that the biggest reason for optimism? Like, what is it? If you're going to do something that is dangerous thinking. >> It's so hard for me to even get myself in that headspace. >> Say you were going to be, I don't know. >> Optimistic and think about the best case scenario for this Leafs team headed into this series against the Boston Bruins. Where would you start? >> I think I would start with the fact that there is some toughness. But that the guy they brought in is a bonafide playoff performer in Tyler Bertuzzi. I know his team lost that series, but he hit ten points in seven games. He's a guy who has that bite, he has that nastiness. And it's not a myth we're talking about. However much we wanted, Elias Sampsonov to be rounding into form and finding his game at just the right time. That has happened in spades with Tyler Bertuzzi specifically. So I'm going to make it about him. It is a team thing that you have more of those guys now. But Tyler Bertuzzi, he didn't play on all those teams. And he's not on Boston anymore. So he gets to throw away the ghost that they had last year. He could have go in that room and say, yeah, it's got your losers. I know I was one of those. >> I was one of them. I hate my best dragon them by their colors to win that series at the ten points. >> But he tried to do it. So I think that just having guys, there's been enough of a turnover. And the guys that have been brought in as part of the turnover, they have an ownership of the team. Like it's a vague concept I'm trying to hit at here. But it's God, I sound like Pierre Dorian here. The biggest reason for optimism with this Leafs team is that they are a team. It's not the core four and friends. >> And even Rhino Riley with the- >> Right. >> The cons might trophy in his back pocket just showing up as a mercenary. >> Well, but it's like, he also immediately, it's like, you're not a mercenary though. Like you're one of us, you're going to leave immediately. But he was also immediately welcomed into the fold. And they just feel like there's so many of these or more of these kind of middle class guys, like, okay, Max Domie's playing on the first line, but it's like, look at the set, look at what he makes. Like he's a middle class player on this team, Tyler Bertuzzi, same exact thing. You know, McMahon, like there's just so much more of this. But these are guys who are not hangers on. Bertuzzi isn't the left winger on the Marner and Matthews line. He, Matthews and Domie are all, I mean, let's be honest, awesome Matthews is a straw that serves the drink there, but they're all working together in spades. This isn't a, and Bertuzzi's up there and it's not, well, you got Marner and JT and Bobby McMahon's on the line too. They, all these guys who in the past would have felt like fringe, almost hangers on. They feel like woven into the fabric of what this leaf's team is this year. >> Yeah, I think that's, that's one of the main areas of optimism, if you're, again, going to take that tact, which I think mostly fans that they steal themselves by not being optimist. Like I am doing this, this is actually among the greatest pieces of professionalism I've ever shown. >> Well done. >> It's coming to the micro reasons the Leafs will win a postseason series. >> Yeah, I think it's, it's that and it's the physicality, but it's also the man, what have we been saying? Even when Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domie weren't going great at the beginning of the season, it was that these guys, one, look like they're built for the postseason, two have been, excuse me, built for the postseason, came through in spades. >> Yeah, like we talk about the Tyler Bertuzzi, like seven games he had ten points. Max Domie, it's a huge part of that stars run a season ago, okay? Both these guys, and you're right as far as the amount of money they're making, they're middle class players, but these guys are significant pieces of this Leafs team playing on the top line. You're talking about the two guys that have performed the best in the postseason, seem best suited for the postseason, are now playing alongside Austin Matthews, who I know didn't have a goal in the five games against the Panthers had an outstanding scoring series in the first round series against the Lightning. The other thing, and this is, this is where the real dangerous thinking comes in, whereas like you use logic, but like there are numbers. There are numbers to tell you this is Bruin's team's not that good. I'm sorry, they're just not, okay? Leafs are first in goals scored in all scenarios this season, Bruin's are 13. Leafs are 10th in expected goals for percentage, which isn't great, but that's, so that's, again, this isn't five on five, this is all scenarios, expected goals for percentage. So it takes, you're expected goals for, and you're expected goals against, and what is the percentage that you have in Leafs are 10th? The Bruins are 20th, they're 20th in the NHL. The Bruins, like we said off the top, they had this great goal tending tandem. It's not this great goal tending tandem that benefits from the strength of the defensive play of the team. They're just great goalies, and they need them to be great day in, day out. If they're not great, the Bruins aren't good. And I mean, the same can be said for the Maple Leafs to a degree, because obviously the blue line is, but yeah, here's what I'll say, if both goal tenders are average, Maple Leafs have a great opportunity to win this series. The Maple Leafs will win this series of both goalies are just average. The Bruins need better goal tending than the Leafs need from Ealy Samsonov. That's exactly, that's the way I was going to put it, is that the Leafs can be sunk by their goal tending. If Ealy is Samsonov, or Joel, like he's allowed to be bad too, if they stub their toe and do not give them competent goal tending, that can absolutely be a reason why. Swamann and Almark can be fine, and the Bruins can still lose this series. If they stand on their head, I think the Boston probably wins this series, because that's been the recipe last year, it was a recipe this year for them. But I think that's a great way to put it, that if both goalies are average, that should have the Leafs laughing. They would take that trade in a heartbeat. Can I, I don't often have numbers, but let me give you a give me a number. Now, I should have wrote down where I got this somewhere, somebody in the athletic at it, but in the 23 minutes that Austin Matthews and Charlie Mack have both been on the ice at five on five, Toronto out-attempted Boston, 40 to 10. That's a lot. Out-shot them 19 to three, and this is my favorite one, out-chance them 25 to two. Now they out-scored them only like one-nothing or two-nothing or something, right? The Leafs only scored once in all of that, so, but what does that go? It's just like, that is actually the perfect stat to give after the theory you just gave. You know why they only scored once? Because the goalies were amazing, they were standing on their heads. So if that's going to happen, then I bet it's going to look a lot like that. Where Matthews and Leafs are driving play, driving play, and God, I can't do that again, but we'll save that for Monday's show. But you see that number there, and I mean, it's hockey. This isn't the NBA where you go like, okay, can, can OG stop this guy in a playoff series. Not a lot of this is going to come down to Matthews v. McAvoy, or Matthews v. Lindholm, or whatever way they want to go about that. And if it's going to look anything close to that, I don't think it's going to look like that. I refuse to believe over a seven-game series, the percentages of that will just continue, because guess what? Charlie McAvoy, Chuck McAvoy, pretty good at hockey as well. So I think he's going to like clean that up a little bit. But if- That's the enhancement in the series. Far and away, but if it's anything close to that, the Leafs are laughing. And then when you get away from the high-end matchups in this series, that only begins to benefit the Leafs as well. Yeah, there's only one Charlie McAvoy, and I don't, Hampus, Lindholm's a fine player. He's pretty close. He's got- Well, it's not close to McAvoy, but it's like he is close to Morgan Riley. Lindholm. Yeah, he is. He's really, really good. But yeah, they're, like we said, off the top of the show that there are, there are scores, there are like, there are guys that do things, there's no punt line. On this Leafs team is currently constructed as long as, yeah, Bobby McMan, Kelly, Aaron Crook are healthy. But even if they're not, like, yeah, William Kneelander is going to be on a third line centered by Bontas Womburg, which might bring us to our biggest reason for pessimism. This one, you don't have to go too deep, right? Like, yeah. Well, can I just say the obvious one first? Yeah, ghosties, ghosties. Yeah, they wear the jerseys. Yeah. So, you know, there. All right. Like, if you were going to go beyond, like it being the Leafs and it being the Bruins. That I think it's possible Boston has the best two defense men in the series. And that is generally speaking, a recipe for disaster. You can make the argument. I don't think you can, but you can maybe make the argument the Leafs have, they definitely have two of the three best forwards, but it's not the best two. Like I take Pasternak, oh, I take right, the way they're going right now, I take Pasternak over Marner, you take Pasternak over Neelander, you certainly take them over to Barras. But when you look at the blue line, I mean, you can quibble and hey, playoff Riley shows up. He is better than Hampus Lindholm, but it hasn't been playoff Riley leading into this. Now that's the whole thing. Flip the switch and prove me wrong, I'd love to see it, but that is the biggest reason for pessimism for me is that it's entirely possible Boston has the best two defense men in the series. And we have so often talked about that being, and it's just, it's the Leafs Achilles heel and it's their biggest strength. Well, outside of goaltending. Yeah. And it sounds bad when you talk about, well, the Bruins, all they have is the blue line and the goaltending advantage. That sounds bad. But honestly, if you go back to what has sunk this Leafs team and especially in the second round against the, they just haven't scored enough. Yeah. Now part of that was the goaltending that the Panthers also displayed, but it just seems that they're more capable of breaking through a good defensive team. I know that the four games that they played during the regular season wouldn't add to, would not feel you make you feel this way. Okay. So I kind of wanted to just, sorry, excuse me, I kind of wanted to talk about that. The idea of this team, this Leafs team and every team is different after the deadline, but it wasn't like Joel Edmondson is what changed the C for this Leafs team. Bertuzzi Matthews, Domi, this forward configuration, they're a completely different group with this figuration than they were when they were losing a Boston 4-1 and whatever the other score was in the, that game in the, in the Joe Wall week. So that's the reason why I feel like you can, you can't throw those games out. They still obviously matter, they still carry some import, but the Leafs are a completely different constructed group and unlike last year where it's well, they added 15 new players, they just were able to find the right or closer to the right configuration. Well, and also like the two games previous to those two games in the span of a week were, I mean, both overtime games, like there was certainly the first one where the Leafs controlled the play in a hockey game. There was one where Sampsonov made, he stopped 38 of 40 in an overtime loss. So, yeah. Well, that brings me to my biggest reason for pessimism, I mean, it's the guy in that who at last check was like on the verge of being pulled in what wouldn't have been I guess his final game of the regular season. Yeah. If you see Sampsonov gets yanked after allowing four goals to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, I gotta figure they find a way to get him into one of those final games either against the Panthers or the Lightning. But that happened. Yeah. Like there was a real discussion that Sheldon Keef had with his assistants is like, this guy's awful. Like, what do we do here? And they're like, maybe part of the discussion was, well, we really would prefer him not to play any of those games. So let's cross our fingers, hope that the worst is behind him in this hockey game. And yeah, Leafs came back with the incredible, furious last 40 minutes losing in overtime. And no, all is forgotten. Like the fact that he had a safe percentage under 800 and is fond of two regular season games. And yeah, he's certainly bounced back after spending his little sojourn with the Marlies. But there's a real potential for the first time in this generation of Leafs teams, them being completely sued by their goal tending. It hasn't happened. They haven't gotten the superior goal tending, except for one series and it was the one they won last year when he outdueled Andre Vasilevsky. But the possibility, and man, you want to talk about likely scenarios and just eventually the the law of statistics working your favor and winning a series, like eventually you don't have an elite goaltender and you keep rolling the dice with these guys. And especially considering like the lack of extreme run of success that like Jack Campbell had going into some of these series that eventually one of these years, yeah, you are going to be sunk by your goal tending. That's that's the thing that I think is a very real possibility that everybody's aware of. Yeah, it's super super terrifying and I, you know, truth serum, who knows what the team feels about Joel Wall right now, I'll tell you one thing, we all feel differently about it. I'll put my hand up like I was somebody who was pretty bullish on Joel Wall. I fully expected him to by this time have grabbed the starter's job. Part of it is injury that allowed him not to do that, but a bigger part of it was his own performance. They gave him those two Boston games. They said, go steal this job from William Sampsonov and he couldn't do it. This isn't to say that Joe Wall, if he's needed in the series, can't come in and play well. Of course he can. There's a reason the team had the belief in him, but man, it's a scary proposition if that's the guy you're turning to and it's like, man, we've all made our jokes about like Matt Murray, Martin Jones, but if it gets to that, like series series over, you know, I mean, I got Red Sox came back, I guess stranger things have happened, but that ain't happened into this team, folks. So yeah, the goal tending is the biggest blinking red light on this team that you would point to one other guy I just wanted to ask you about heading into the series here, Marner. I can kind of go two ways. I'm not going to say there's any world where like Mitch Marner goes into a postseason with pressure off of him. We know he has the contract extension and there's always going to be eyeballs, but has there ever been a year that he's felt more under the radar heading into a postseason series? It's like, do you even think about him? No. So much of it was the injury I know, but since he's come back, it's he's just been in this weird flocks, you know, a little with Marner or sorry, a little with Matthews. I think I, you know, in a weird way, it might be the best thing for him not to be next to Austin Matthews. I couldn't say it, but that's kind of what I was getting at here. Yeah, the pressure was on the Matthews line to look as good as it looked down the stretch. And boy, you want to talk about things that were bad about 2019. How about the things that were good in those series against the Bruins? Mitch Marner, looking at his absolute best, playing alongside John Tavares, which is going to be the reunion that we see going into game one. Now it was five years ago. So I JT a little different look this time around. But yeah, remember there was a time where we're like, Oh, look at Mitch Marner blocking shots at the end of a playoff game. There's never it is. It's so remarkable where we have ended up with this player in his postseason resume because of the way it started, Mitch Marner, the small diminutive playmaking winger, going full Johnny Bauer, like stretching out his face to block the shot at the end of the series. And you think, Oh my God, same in the series afterwards, but yeah, okay. And that might have been the result of that play. Let me live in that moment. And you just, you sit there going, Oh my God, he, he wore 93 in London and he is killer. He is doggy. And I mean, no one's ever had that thought since and like so much of it is that nobody's killed more and nobody's doggy. So don't ask somebody to be that. And let's be honest, Mitch Marner's not going to be that, but how it started and where we have ended up with the like puck over the glass jokes and all the stats about game five and on in series, there is there. There's no player like you asked me this with the blue jays this week, like who's done the biggest one 80 in terms of their public perception. Starting that of Mitch Marner and you're thinking, Oh my God, there it is like that's the chosen one. He is the guy he said he was and not to say that he still can't be that guy, but it's just, man, it's amazing what the weight of expectations can do to somebody. And he's been, I'm not going to say he's been crushed by him, but it's like he's clearly been wearing him since that moment. Yeah, he won't get Charlie Magamoy. That's a great point. He's, I mean, he's playing on the second line. Well, so I was looking at, I was reading some of the stuff out of Boston. And again, we're talking to our guy, Jimmy Murphy in a couple of minutes, which is by the way, just like a central cast. Oh, yeah. Jimmy Murphy, Oh Sullivan. Yeah, exactly. Oh Doyle. But there's been some belief out of Boston that, and they have done this at times, going to Lindholm and McAvoy together as a super pair. If, if Matthews and Gomi and Bertuzzi can seem so dangerous that that has to happen, what world does that open up where you're looking at like a Carlo grizzlic second pair? And I like both of those guys when they're playing with Lindholm or they're playing with McAvoy together. Yeah. Absolutely. I think there's a real possibility here that being removed from the spotlight of the 69 goal score and those other two dudes and being the number one with a bullet line that you can be Mitch Marner, 99 point score, Selkie award, vote getting winger, playing alongside the captain, Johnny Toronto, that he like almost, it's weird. Like it's the Leafs and there's always the weight of expectation. But there is actually like a, it feels like a lifting of some of the expectation around a player who is also just coming back from injury. So he's always, listen, there will always be that excuse. I don't know if this enters a professional athlete's mind, but I can tell you that, you know, thinking about the narrative for me, if Marner doesn't perform in this series, well, it's like, what is he supposed to do, John Tavares is a million years old and he's, you know, he was just never healthy at the high angle spray and what an unfortunate injury. I think a Kipper impersonation is good. Simmer down, but yeah, there is a potential for all the things working in the correct direction for Mitch Marner to have the postseason of his life. No, I wholeheartedly agree and I'm just so happy Kipper doesn't listen so I can make that joke. But the other thing with him is that when you look at the spot he's in now, how important is it for Sheldon Keefe to stick with this? How quick is it, like, is his finger already hovering on the button as he asks where it is? Does he not even want to know? It's like, don't tell me where the magic marker is. So I can't even change the lines because we know his propensity to win everything, forget when everything goes stale, when literally anything goes wrong. It's like, ah, get them back together, get Matthews and Marner back together. He has done a great job of going away from that since this Bertuzzi, Dolmy, Matthews, trio has kind of formed and Marner's been back. Now he's been forced into it by certain at certain moments. Can he stay away from putting them together if they lose game one or if Matthews and Jolmy and Bertuzzi have a quiet game one? Because we talked about this one, I forgot what game it was, but he said they had the slow first period, he's stuck with them and then they really found their life as a line as the game went on. Is he going to be able to do that knowing he has Marner sitting there waiting in the wings? That to me is, oh, there's going to be a lot of questions about the coaching job Sheldon Keith does in this series. I don't know what the right answer is because I'm not going to say there's no world where it makes sense to put them together, but that I think is his biggest first crucial test in the series. I would like to think, especially on the road where you don't control the matchups. Yes. Let's see. Agreed. I got it. Looks like with the talent spread across three lines and I know, yeah, the lender hasn't looked great at the end of the season, although like he was not playing on that third line when Max Domi was out and Mitch Marner was playing alongside Austin. Yeah, it was was Keith's line of like, and it's funny because this is the player you can most believe it about, but it's also like, Oh boy, that's a change in tone from Sheldon Keith of Willie's done playing regular season hockey. Okay. Yeah. Hope he's ready for the playoffs. Yeah. Yeah. And that's been a scenario that's worked for him. Yeah, it does. Although, yeah. You can make fun of the, the Bruins lack a center depth and you should. Yep. Because yeah, there is no Patris Berger on walking through that door. The Leafs too factually have Pontus Homburg, like being asked to play third line center minutes and a line that is not a punt line, one that's going to be expected to score on occasion. All right. Should we talk to a person from Boston named Jimmy Murphy? We should. Yeah. Okay. We're going to talk to the Bruins reporter for Boston hockey now, host of the iTest podcast, as the fan morning show continues, Ben Anis, Brent Gunning, Sportsnet 590, the fan. Big guests and bigger opinions on everything happening in leafsland. Real Gipper and Born, be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Good morning, Joe Sportsnet 590, the fan, Ben Anis, Brent Gunning, Leafs, Bruins, Game 1, Tomorrow Night, Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet and CBC. And I said already earlier, Patris Bergeron isn't walking through that door. That is. I was going to say, like, I think he won't put on, I don't even know if this is true. Maybe he'll be wearing skates when he does it. He's going to be waving the flag, right? Yeah. For sure. For sure. He's going to be out there. It's a day. No charros in town. It's like he ran the marathon. They're bringing out all the tormentors of leafs. Was to grass. I bet there. Why not? Do you not remember what happened the last time these two teams played in the regular season? I don't. They've honored the 2013 championship team, and Brad Marcham went over and it's like, "Hey, let's rub this in the Leafs face one more time." Yeah, he did do that, didn't he? You're not remember. Yeah, now I do. Now you do. So, of course. Of course. It's like, I would not be surprised. Man, David Ayers is going to, like, wave the flag before the game for them or something, okay? Yeah, come on. That has nothing to do with that? No, I don't. It's about poking the bear. Alright. And funny for the Bruins, I don't know. Yes. I'm the leader in chief for Boston Hockey Now and host of the ITES podcast. Jimmy, thanks for doing this. How's it going? No problem at all, guys. Going great. Really excited about the series. Can't wait for it to get underway tomorrow night. Let's start with this. Because it was kind of curious the way the Bruins finished their regular season. We all felt like we were headed towards a Panthers Leafs rematch from last year's second round series. I don't know. Do you think the Bruins preferred this matchup over the lightning? Do I think, yeah, I definitely think they do. And they're not going to tell you that. But I mean, if you watch those games closely, they were just going through the motions until basically for the last two games, I'd say for, you know, all three periods against Washington, they just weren't there. And then the first two periods against Ottawa as well. And then they kind of woke up and got it going in the third period against Ottawa. But yeah, they did not look interested in either game. I think they just wanted to get to the playoffs. And, you know, I think if you got them off the record, I mean, they definitely say they wanted this. And I'll say to them and to the Bruins fans here who think that the Bruins are just going to walk through the Leafs, be careful what you wish for. And, you know, I'm surprised that people are asking this way or sort of wanting to pick their opponent after what happened with the Bruins last year. Because this is the same thing last year, like, oh, we're just going to go right through the first round. I think the Bruins key that lost to the Florida Panthers, this is not nearly as good as the Bruins key. So, again, I think people around here need to be careful what they wish for. Yeah, I wonder, you know, and like you said, no, you're not going to, it's going to be a respect off between these two teams from now until puck drop of, oh, they're so good. They're so talented. You love their structure. You love their depth, of course. But what do you think it is about this Leafs team? Is it like for somebody like Brad Marchand, do you think it's just like all the way back to 2013 of the continued postseason success? Do you think it's the way the four games went this year? Like, what is it, do you think for them that makes the Leafs feel like potentially a better match-up? Or maybe it's just the lightning the way they were rolling? You want to know a piece of that? I think, yeah, I mean, I think they looked at the lightning, man. I don't think anyone really wanted a piece of the lightning the way they've been going over the last month. And, you know, when Vassaleski finally finds his game there, he can just steal a series on his own, a manufacturing the season that Kucharoff has had as well, and he can never kind of stand-go. So I think that's a team kind of rounding into form at the right time, just, you know, much similar to the Florida Panthers last year. So I think everyone wanted to stay away from them. But when I look at, you know, the Bruins in the Leafs, I think Bruins definitely, you know, they can say it all they want, that the past and even the recent past, where they went 4-0 and 0 against them this season, doesn't factor in, but it has to. I mean, it's got to be in your head and, you know, as a professional hockey player, you have to block that out and realize that it's a completely new season. But I think that plays a role there. And I think, you know, when the Bruins are looking at match-ups, I think you get the forward match-up to the Leafs. But then I think, you know, the Bruins, if you're looking at it technically, they've got the, they win the match-up between the defencemen and obviously the goal-tenning. So I just think they, they know they probably have a better chance against them. But again, you got to realize that all that gets turned off the door and so many strange things can happen. If there's a team that should know that after what happened last year, it should be the core that's still there in the Boston Bruins' dressing room. Okay. This is going to sound quaint to Leaf fans, but yeah, it's back-to-back game seven losses in the first round for the Bruins, which is so cool, only two. But yeah, it is, and especially considering the way the regular season went and the expectations for that Bruins team getting a Panthers team that we didn't know was going to go all the way to the Cup final. It seemed like an easy matchup. I mean, where is the level of pressure on this Bruins team? So, Anthony, I would ask this yesterday, and I'm on the radio here, we're doing it. It's an interesting question, right, because you can kind of look at it two ways. Look at it and say, okay, well, they're playing their rival, who yesterday Brad Marshans said it's a bigger rival than the Montreal Canadiens now, but that rivalry is kind of second place to the Leafs' Bruins. So, if they were to lose to the Leafs after sweeping them in the regular season, after owning them in the playoffs for so long, it could be disaster here, you know, the ruse falling in after this series, and, you know, who knows whose jobs are on the line. But at the same time, you know, I think they're going to say it, but when you look at what they did in the offseason last year coming into the season, they lost so many guys, there's so much Ross to turn over, they brought in a lot of guys, veterans, maybe, that were kind of castaways or even younger players who really didn't work out, you know, like a Morgan Geeky who didn't get qualified on chief one year and two year deals, and it was sort of like patchwork by Don Sweeney because they had so many salary captain strengths, and then next year, or this offseason now, and not next year, it's here almost, they're going to have about 21.5 million in half space to spend, so I think the Bruins were kind of looking at this as a transition year, and I don't think they expected what this team did at all, even to be competing for the Atlantic Division or even the Eastern Conference top seat, or even the President's Trophy down to the last two weeks of the season, so, you know, I think they've got to be pretty satisfied with the way the season went compared to maybe what the expectations were, so, if they lose in the first round, I don't think it's an ultimate failure like it was last year, but at the same time, I think playing the weeks and, you know, you factor in the rivalry and the history, that kind of turns that narrative around a bit, so it will be interesting to see if they lose what the reaction is, but, you know, I just know that Don Sweeney's going to have a lot of money to spend, and he can put together a really better team on paper for next season, so, if I'm Jim Montgomery and I lose this series, I don't think I'm in as much trouble as I might have been, because I think there's kind of an understanding there, hey, you got us this far, we had a great season, let's give it a run here in the playoffs, but, you know, I'm not saying, I mean, no one's safe in this league, right, but I just don't think he should be worried about it too much. Furthermore, guys, I think Jim Montgomery did a better job coaching this team than he did last year's team, given the amount of talent he had on that team, and given the fact that he had a guy like Patrice Bergeron was basically a player coach, like a Reg Dunlop in Flapshot. Yeah, what they were able to get out of Bergeron, I mean, obviously the play he was able to maintain deep into his NHL career is incredible, but yeah, the player coach aspect of it all. I think when we talk about, well, I mean, obviously you guys will pick it one way or another a little bit more deeply, but when I'm looking at Jim Montgomery of this series, it kind of comes down to one question for me, and that's how does he handle his goal tending. Are they really just going to alternate goalies come hell or high water? Is it a win in your end situation? What do you think is going to happen here? Because, man, they've had two good goalies and I completely understand the idea of sticking with what's got them to this point, but we've also all been there where if you have two goalies, do you really even have one? What do you think they end up doing with the tandem in this series? Well, they're not there telling us it was funny yesterday. Don Swings spoke to the media in his end of the regular season pressure and of course, that was a question actually came up twice. He was asked that in the first question of the press conference in the last and he said, well, I just answered it. My answer hasn't changed in five minutes, but he basically in the first question when he did answer it, he said, yeah, we know what the plan is, but we're not telling you. It's kind of a guessing game when it comes to the media and the fans right now, but my hunch is based on the fact that if you go back, I want to say it was right around when the Leafs and Bruins last met. It was March 7th, the day before the trade deadline and the Bruins won that game four to one and I heard you guys referencing that. They celebrated the 2011 Cup team and all that. It was a big night there in Boston. He had said, we're thinking about going with one goalie for a few games here down the stretch to see how that goes and kind of get a feel for it to see if maybe that's something we want to try in the playoffs and veer away from the rotation, but he never did that. It just never happened. He just kept going with the rotation and it was interesting too because after that deadline, you all know the rumors that were around the NFL mark. I mean, they have a trade in place that he vetoed, right? And so he stayed and he's been lights out since. I mean, he looked like, since then, he just looked like the lienus hallmark last year that won the Vezitro. He's not the one in the playoffs, but the one in the regular season. I'd like to see that one. And he was really amazing down the stretch here. So I figured, well, why aren't they riding him? And they just did it. So, you know, I kind of did some digging, talked to someone with the team and I wrote about this about a week and a half ago because I'd spoken to a scout and I asked the scout about it and he said, you know, I know it's unconditional and because I'm with you, Murph, but like you should just ride one guy, but you do kind of have a weapon there that you can kind of play mind games with the other team, especially right now in terms of advanced scouting into the playoffs. And then even game by game, you know, you can play mind games because they got to prepare for both guys. So I think based on what I'm hearing from people with the team, I think they're going to try and stick with that. I mean, you know, let's say they put Swamin in there for game one because he had the better record against Toronto. He was really good against them. Let's say they put him in there for game one and he comes out and makes 40 saves and a three-nothing shot out. You know, okay, you're not going to take him out, right? Well, no, I think they might go to Almark in game two. Almark comes in. He has a good game. I think they keep rotating until maybe one of these guys just gets completely lit up. I think it's going to take a really bad game, maybe even getting pulled for them to go away from the rotation. So that's my hunch. I might be completely wrong, but I think they're going to stick with it. How much does the seven games against the Panthers inform that decision-making as they had to wait until game seven for Swamin to get his first start of that series? Yeah, I think a lot of that has to deal with it there. And, you know, there's another thing, too, that they've never admitted it. But I mean, if you guys watch that series closely, I think it was game four when Kachuk and Almark got into it in front of a net late in the third period. Kachuk, you know, the Brewers had the game in hand and Kachuk was trying to do some message that name and Almark threw a punch at him and he was just off. Almark was completely off after that. And then, you know, he came out in game five and a lot of times, and lots of them closely, and he was getting up slow. And he looked like he was injured. So there are a lot of things in fact that into why they probably should have gone with Swamin in game five there. And I think that is sticking in the back of their head. So that's why I think, hey, why not go with this until it really doesn't work? Let's go with what got us here. And I think that's the approach they're going to take. Yeah, man, that is that is fascinating. Obviously, there'll be no shortage of things to talk about from this series, but one way or another, how they handle their goaltending will certainly be a big, big part of it. We talk a lot here about the idea of the Leafs going nuclear with their forwards kind of loading things up. I've been reading some stuff about Boston's potential plan for the postseason. Is there a world where they go nuclear on the back end and try to occasionally get a Lindholm-Macaboy pair out there? Or is the rest of the blue line like, did they just need those guys spread out across a couple of pairs? Because you know, I was looking at some of the Matthews with or the numbers with Matthews versus Macaboy on the ice. And it's been pretty good in Matthews favor. Now obviously, I think Macaboy can play better than that. Is there a world where they kind of load up that top pair and the Leafs could see? I doubt for a full game, but over parts of it, a Lindholm and Macaboy pair? Oh, yeah, they've definitely expressed that nuclear button already. They've been doing that down the stretch here. And I think that's fully why they've been doing it is to see how well that parent could work. And if they could do that, and I think you make a good point there, Jim Montgomery, he might start a forward line and a defensive pairing. That doesn't mean they're going to be that, you know, together the whole game. I mean, he's the ultimate guy of just going shift by shift and adapting to the game. He's done a great job of in-game adapting. So, but I think he does start with that. However, the interesting thing is guys, and you know, I wrote about this yesterday, if you look at it, the guy on defense that has the most success against awesome Matthews this season is Brandon Carlo. And nobody's really talking about him. And he's kind of been the quiet assassin for the Boston Bruins when it comes to being a shutdown guy this season. And it's been great because he's healthy. I mean, anytime Carlos has been healthy over the past five years, he's been a factor. The problem is he can't stay healthy. I mean, it's been like a tradition where he either gets banged up heading into the playoffs or early in a playoff series in the first round. You go back to, I think back to even that Islander series, they lost coming out of the COVID. And then again, against Carolina, he was hurt. And he was kind of banged up last year as well. So it's like, he, if he can stay healthy, he is a great shutdown guy. And kind of the guy that because he's been hurt for so many times, people forget about. So keep an eye on him. And maybe, yeah, I think they started off with Lenholm and McAvoy against Matthews. But I think they mixed Carlo in a lot there. And it also, it's a great asset to have because it can leave McAvoy and Lenholm of the minutes that they're usually eating out there. I mean, these guys sometimes have gone over 30 minutes a game. So to have a healthy Carlo, I think it's a real weapon for for Jim Montgomery. Not too many humans on planet Earth. The brand in Carlo is looking up to, but the least just signed one in in Kade Weber, Boston University's own like, do you know much about him other than he's six foot seven? Yeah, no. And for a big guy, he's very mobile. You can move the puck. I like him a lot. You know, he's just coming in. So I don't want to put huge expectations on the kid. But I think he's got a promising NHL career ahead of him. I was really impressed with how he played at BU. Look, you know, I think Toronto in general, Pierre McGuire and I were talking about this yesterday on our podcast. Yeah, I guess. And we said Toronto guys, you guys should be really thrilled about the fact that they have really started to corner the NCAA for the agent market over the last five to seven years. They've done a good job kind of scouting their college guys. I don't know the guys names by heart that are, you know, your amateur scouts are in charge of that. But they deserve a lot of credit for the way they're scouting out some of these college kids. And obviously we know that this is becoming more of a trend in the NHL. We see more and more of these kids coming out of college hockey as opposed to just mainly juniors. So kudos to the Leafs for bringing in him and some other guys that they have. Yeah, I can't wait to see him. He looks like he could be a monster. Well, he has six foot seven. That's a large human being. Jimmy can't wait for game one. Tomorrow. Thanks for doing this. All right, guys. Can you get it? You're not not believe this, but I'm, I'm saying least in six. All right. Okay. All right. From your mouth to God's ears. All right. You too, man. See Jimmy Murphy editor in chief for Boston hockey now host of the I test podcast. That's okay. I'm glad he finished with that because I didn't thought about that. The prediction? No, no, no. The other thing he said about the pressure thing. Right. Because it, it absolutely makes sense. Yes. Okay. Bruins aren't supposed to be here. They're not. This is the last Patrice Bergeron. This is a team that had the best regular season record in the NHL last year and disappointed in the first round of the postseason. But yeah, they, they do have what like, Pavel Zag as their number one center man. Yeah. And here they, they, it took until game 82 for them not to win the Atlantic division. Oh God. Like maybe, maybe the pressure is off now. No, no, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. They have two, you know, given the time and they're not like capital V Vezna goalies, but it's like two Vezna goal tenders basically back there. They have a Norris trophy caliber defenseman in Charlie McAvoy and they have a 60 point Leafs tormentor in David Pasternak and despite losing the heart and soul of their team in Patrice Bergeron, the heart and soul of their team is still there in Brad Marchon. So don't you dare. I know it's just Jimmy Murphy who put this in your ear, but don't you dare give it any credence that there's no pressure. Okay. It's a bit of a reset year. Still tons of reasons why that team should be in win now mode and they choked it away like dogs last year. There better be pressure on lean us all Mark choked it away like a dog and then was traded. Like he said, yeah, she's like needs to be once again reminded to people that it wasn't just like, hey, there were rumors or no, no, no, he said, no, no, thanks. I'm good. Don't want to be a king. Yeah, which by the way, we think I said, so it's a part of that is like obviously getting return on a player that's headed towards free agency. But part of that must be said kind of feels like un on coming up the works and goaltending. Yeah, that. Okay. Yeah. No, this seems that this is the plan to alternate goalies. We figured it out. You know, the rest of the NHL that doesn't do this and all the teams that won Stanley Cups with, yeah, maybe not the guy that started the postseason and using more than one goalie over the course of a regular. But by the end, there's a guy. Yeah, there's a guy. It's like, no, we're smarter than you. We got it figured out. We're going to do the thing that works so well for us during the regular season, except we know factually. Yeah, they made an attempt to not have to do that. We know that. That's true. We also know that at last check, Linus Olmoc, Mark was reason number one. They choked that series away to the Florida Panthers, up three one in the series and not getting the opportunity to redeem himself with the start in game seven. It was Jeremy Swamin also in game seven with a chance to steal the series and rectify all the wrongs that took place there. Loser. We did lose. I mean, he's a loser. I'm just saying that moment. There's a winner. There was a loser. No, it's, it's just funny to talk about the narrative of, Hey, man, what a great situation you have. And yeah, why wouldn't you alternate two guys that have very similar numbers across the entire regular season? Well, you know, who truly doesn't believe that that's the best way to go about things. Yeah, no kidding. The other thing that he said in there and like, this is funny, right? Like you learn things about teams as you like prep for a playoff series and then you inevitably watch it. If Jim Montgomery is the tinkerer in chief, what does that do to Sheldon Keefe? Like, he's been so good. He's had his hands tied behind his back. I don't actually mean that. But I do think he is like going up to his assistants. And it's like when you go out with your buddies and y'all have that like, we have that little bit of a loose cannon who's like, Hey, like, feel free to get me in line. It's like I do feel like that probably happens with Sheldon Keefe. Like, hey, remind me that not tinkering has been good for me in this stretch. You need to get back. Yeah, you do. You need to get back coach like with Sean McVay. How much does if like if Jim Montgomery's like, Oh, yeah, watch this little spice on the first line, a little bam. Let me throw that in there. Like, what does that do to Sheldon Keefe? Is he going to be able to kind of maintain the consistent lines? And I think we always get so bogged down in the same lines. And of course, you should read the game. Of course. But you also have to let things marinate and build to a certain extent as well. So that's something I'm really fascinated. Like we talked about yesterday, Sheldon Keefe has the experience advantage and they're tied on series victories in the postseason. Not Jack Adams, though. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's just how do you win it, Jack Adams? If you're a leaf coach in this generation, you just can't you're not allowed. No, not permitted. No. And like, I mean, if my Babcock couldn't do it leading that team into the post season and then I mean, I know it's a regular season award, but yeah, it's like Austin Matthews year 14 when he has like a good season, but the core is depleted around him. And then it's like, all right, Toronto, here you go. All right. That's when it happens. Okay. All right, time now for the wake and rake presented by sports interaction, your homegrown sports book 19 plus bet responsibly. It is finally here Saturday 8 p.m. Eastern time on sports net and CBC game one of a hockey night in Canada, Leafs Bruins from Boston and the Bruins are favored to win the series ever so slightly and naturally favored in game one minus 130 the Leafs plus 110 the total because it's the postseason. Little need to lose a goal at least. Yeah, maybe half goal. Five and a half. Can't believe I'm going to do it. I'm going to take the least on the money line. I know. I know. I'm a mush. It'll all be my fault when they lose tomorrow night inevitably. I think the Leafs get off to a good start. I do. I think it's the biggest recipe for them now for success. I think they know that as well. And I think that this team is more not motivated, but more ready than ever to start a postseason series on the right foot. They know what happened last year as well. Yeah, I can't believe I'm doing it. I am buoyed by the fact that there's value. Not much, but plus 110. Yeah, I go Leafs on the money line. I don't hate it. I got to be honest with you because as much as the Leafs have the Leafs ended their regular season rather poorly. So did the Bruins. It should be noted scored one goal over their final two regular season games. I don't mind that bet. Yeah, if you were going to do the the money line, I would I would be sprinkling on the Leafs. I'd like, despite it being a deflated goal total, I still like the under. I mean, this is this is a Bruins team that has the goaltending advantage is going to try and keep it a low scoring game. I think we get a couple of teams just testing the waters. I think we we get a 2 1 3 2 type of hockey game tonight. And then we go from there. That was the waken rake presented by sports interaction, your homegrown sports book 19 plus bet responsibly. When we come back, Josh Kloke is in Massachusetts getting set for this series. Wonder if he has pants or not. First question. You don't think that's written down is my first question. The athletic Leafs reporter joins us next as the fan morning show continues. Van Anis Brent Gunning sports at 590 the fan.
