Bottom line: It’s time for the Maple Leafs to take care of business and punch their ticket to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carter Hutton was in for Jay Rosehill as we offered up an all-encompassing Game 5 preview on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take.
Due to the Federal Election, the two teams got an extra day off, which in the long run, probably benefits both sides. Any way you slice it, the Leafs need to show all the wisdom they’ve gathered from all those learning lessons over the years. Tonight’s all about killer instinct.
With that in mind, thanks to GRETA BAR YYZ, Bruce Boudreau made another appearance on the show. The legend weighed in on Matthews’ ‘rest’ day, Toronto’s 3-1 series lead, and what the Leafs need to do to put Ottawa away. Additionally, he dished on the Cour Four’s play, Matthew Knies’ evolution as a player, and how he would handle the crease moving forward. For the record, Gabby’s feeling very confident about this team entering tonight’s festivities.
Of course, Jake Sanderson was the OT hero back in Game 4 on Saturday night. That came after Auston Matthews hit a post and the Leafs failed to score on a four minute power play. The Leafs played good enough to win that game. In fact, they were excellent for most of it. If they play that way tonight, they will be in good standing. Furthermore, it will be fascinating the document the crease battle. For the most part, Anthony Stolarz has grossly outplayed Linus Ullmark. No lineup changes are expected for the Maple Leafs, which means no Nick Robertson once again. All in all, special teams and discipline could end up being the determining factor in this one.
Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix for the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Join us at 11 AM for a full recap of Game 5. We’ll either be looking ahead to a Game 6 or discussing Toronto’s second series victory in 21 years. Go Leafs Go!
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