Leafs feeling confident heading into series with Bruins

With the Boston Bruins confirmed as their first-round playoff opponent, the Maple Leafs got to work at their practice facility Monday. And every member of the team - whether they played in Toronto's 2017 series against Washington or not - is focused on building on their regular-season successes and pushing even deeper into the post-season this time around.

"No matter who you are, you're getting up for this, whether you're a player, coach, fan, anyone who watches the game," Leafs rookie defenceman Travis Dermott said. "I'm just excited to get it started."
"The spring is real short for most teams, and we don't want it to be short," added Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. "We're having fun. So if we want to keep playing and hanging out together, we have to dig in."
The Buds will be squaring off against a Bruins team that got stronger as the regular season unfolded, and one that, like the Leafs, has a solid mix of veteran experience and skilled young players. Toronto posted a 3-1-0 record against Boston this year, but nobody in the Leafs' dressing room believes that gives them a leg up at this point.
"I think everything just resets, it doesn't matter," centre Auston Matthews said of Toronto's success against Boston. "At this point, your season series means absolutely nothing. Where you're seeded and where you finish, it doesn't matter. You make the playoffs, and anything can happen."
"They've got more points than us, so we're the underdog," Babcock added. "In saying all that, they believe they're going to win, we believe we're going to win. That doesn't mean we think it's going to be easy. We don't believe that at all. But we think we've got enough in the room that we have to find a way."
Boston's offence is driven by their top line of centre Patrice Bergeron and wingers David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, each of whom have at least 30 goals to their credit this year. Keeping them in check will be a key for Toronto.
"All three guys, unbelievable players," Matthews said of the line. "They work hard, too. They're not just a line with skill - they've got some grit, they've got guys that'll go into the corners, dig pucks out and win battles and find each other in open spots."
Aside from neutralizing the Bruins' top line, the Leafs will need their own top players to thrive if they're to move on to the second round. That's not to say they won't need contributions from everyone - the Stanley Cup playoffs are all about lesser-heralded players stepping up and chipping in - but Babcock and his team know this is when the game's best players truly carve out a meaningful reputation for themselves.
"You want to be considered a good player, you've got to do it at this time of year," Babcock said. "You've got to do it when it matters. It matters now. To me, that's how you separate yourself from the group. You look at (Penguins star Sidney) Crosby's resume, you look at (Hawks captain) Jonathan Toews' resume, it's loaded with winning. When you become a serial winner, you get a ton of respect."
A top player can have all the talent in the world, but without the focus and relentless thirst for winning, it won't matter much in the sport's toughest tournament.
"It's called will, it's called determination," Babcock said of the players who thrive in the post-season. 'They're not going away, they're going to stick with it and they know that most shifts in the game are 50/50. In other words, nothing happens. But there's going to be one shift where they get their opportunity and they're going to make you pay. They do that with determination, drive-train, stick-to-itiveness, and they're just waiting to wear you out.
"The other thing about it is, the best of the best, they've worked harder, they've trained harder, they're in better shape, they're mentally stronger so they're going to make less mistakes. In the end, they get you."
The series kicks off with Games One and Two Thursday and Saturday in Boston before Toronto comes home to play the next two contests Monday and Thursday. The Leafs pushed the Capitals to six games last spring before being eliminated, and that experience has given them the desire to go further.
"Just how hard it is," Matthews said when asked what the Leafs took away from last year's playoff results. "You get a taste of it, you're going against the top team in the league, so we knew it was going to be a test. You get pretty eager to get back into a similar position and go further.