Round #1: Leafs VS Bruins

9 years, blah blah, who cares at this point.  The Leafs are facing the Bruins in the 1st round of the 2013 Stanley cup playoffs.  On April 20th, the Leafs beat the Sens 4-1 to clinch a playoff spot.  

This was my reaction..

Everyone knows the Leafs have had a hard time with the Bruins over the last 40 some games. Also how Kessel seems to turn into a ghost when playing the same Bruins, scoring something like 0 even strength goals in 22 games.  Although he does have 3 power play goals in that stretch, ya, I know, no big deal.

Here are the keys to the series that could be a big deal.

Patrice Bergeron:

The best two way forward on this Bruins team could be a huge factor.  He ould shut down the Leafs while scoring big time points, or he could be hit on the 1st shift in game 1 and have another concussion.  Flip of a coin really.

Tuukka Rask:

Every goalie who wins in the playoffs, does it with better numbers than the regular season.  Rask is a great goalie, and in the regular season, is as good as any in the East, maybe in the entire league.  One thing that stands out to me tho, is his record in the playoffs.  7-6 with a 2.61 GAA and a 0.910 SV% in the playoffs.  Not very good compared to his career regular season stats, 2.20 GAA and a 0.926 SV%.  

Don't forget the year (2010) that Rask and the big bad Bruins had a 3-0 series lead vs the Flyers and blew it, losing the series 4-3.  Rask let in 15 goals in the last 4 games, including blowing a 3-0 lead in game 7 of that series.

Chara, Redden, Jagr:

Playoff series combine where these 3 players eliminated the Leafs: 0

Some people may think I'm grasping at straws, and hey, maybe I am.  But Phil Kessel struggles against a specific team, and why can't other players struggle against specific teams?  Who cares if they played the Leafs 10-15 years ago in the playoffs, I'm trying to do whatever I can to give faith to a Nation that hasn't had much to cheer for nearly a decade.

James Reimer:

Please save everything.  I'd like nothing more than 4 straight shutouts from you Optimus Reim.  We have never seen Reimer in the NHL playoffs.  I'm not going to write him off, though he definitely needs to make sure he has the best 4-7 games of his career.   

Lupul:

Joffrey Lupul needs to not get hurt or suspended.  He has not gone more than 6 games this year without being hurt or suspended, and it's hurt the Leafs in certain ways.  Example. He has 11 goals and 18 point in just 16 games played this season.  Including a nice goal from beside the net against Boston, during his 1st game back after being suspended 2 games.

Kessel:

Kessel doesn't have to do a single thing this series other than keep trying his hardest.  Bruins want to spend all their energy shutting down Kessel, go right ahead.  Lupul and Kadri will continue to light the lamp while Julien keeps putting Chara on Kessel.  It would be nice to see Kessel get some mad points this series.  Maybe all this negative attention from the media will light a fire under his arse and he might score some goals.  Who knows.