The regular season is less than two weeks from conclusion, and still, the Maple Leafs have no clue who they will be facing in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Firstly, Toronto needs to clinch a playoff spot, which should happen this weekend. After that, it will come down to a variety of different things.
Carter Hutton filled in for Jay Rosehill on the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We kicked off the show by talking about scoreboard watching. On Thursday night, Florida pounded Ottawa 6-0 and Tampa outlasted Montreal 7-4. And so, the Leafs are six points back of the Panthers for second in the Atlantic with two games in hand and two points up on the Lightning for third with one game in hand. Oh, the intrigue.
Meantime, Ilya Samsonov was nominated for the Masterton Trophy. All in all, it’s been wild season for the Russian netminder. Prior to his AHL demotion, the 27-year-old posted a 5-2-6 record to go along with a 3.94 goals-against average, .862 save percentage and one shutout. Since then, he’s been downright incredible (16-4-1, 2.51, .912, 2 SO). Well deserved!
Presented by DoorDash, forAppetizer, we talked about the latest news and notes surrounding the team. After missing 12 games with a high ankle sprain, Mitch Marner’s trending towards a return in Montreal on Saturday night. The Leafs went 7-4-1 in the All-Star winger’s absence. Furthermore, Joel Edmundson could return, too. Also, we discussed Auston Matthews’ pursuit of 70 goals. Will he get there? Where does Marner fit into all of this?
Additionally, thanks to our friends over at Charm Diamond Centres, we dove further into the crease situation. In eight outings since returning from a high ankle sprain, Joseph Woll has had his ups and downs. Meantime, Ilya Samsonov has continued his second half dominance. Naturally, Hutton was the perfect person to ask about all of this.
After that, courtesy the Wendy’s Daily Faceoff Survivor, we previewed the third and final meeting of the season with the rival Montreal Canadiens. Toronto’s won the first two contests —both by one goal. In fact, dating back to last season, the Leafs have actually won four straight meetings with their Original Six rival.
Lastly, brought to you by Douglas, Jay Rosehill and I had a chance to spend some time recently with Boston University blueliner Cade Webber. If you do recall, the Leafs acquired the 23-year-old 6’7” monster from Carolina in exchange for a sixth round pick ahead of this year’s trade deadline. He was a lot of fun.
Anthony Stewart will fill in for Jay Rosehill on the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Join us as we break down the Leafs/Habs game plus preview another visit for Kyle Dubas’ Penguins to Toronto.
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