Man, well done Devo. This is one of the best previews I've ever seen. Really well put together.
During the last stretch of the year, I was so worried about facing Ottawa in the 1st round and that was the biggest reason I was happy to be on the right side of the leap frog race with the Penguins. I wanted absolutely no part of Dubnyk in the 1st round. Then, I thought we used wildcard format and I'd be facing the Pens instead and was prepping the team for that. Now to see the Leafs is a surprise. Not a good one though. League leading scorer Patrice Bergeron is on a tear, so it'll be a tough challenge. We're going to have to find a way to shut down the best 2 way centre in the league.
We also face a couple of former Flyers in Lee and Simmonds.
On Simmonds, after he was traded away...
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonDuke
...He's also in the top 5 for CPHL penalty minutes, making the team work harder on the PK. This one was a huge factor, as we noticed his stats for PIM (4th in the NHL) have more than doubled this year over last year. He's 3nd in CPHL goals, so Toronto gets the BPA, for sure. But we're very afraid that his already low discipline rating of 64 drops even more next year, becoming even more of a liability. We were excited about getting him, and wish it had worked out, but wish him all the best in Toronto.
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Just as GM JonDuke suspected, Wayne Simmonds' discipline dropped to 57 and he now leads the league in PIM. Flyers will aim to capitalize while playing the most penalized team in the league. Luckily for the Leafs though...the Flyers don't have a powerplay to brag about.
Toronto had the 5th worst GAA but have a really great power play. The key for Philly in this series is to simply stay out of the box.
Game plan: Let Wayne Simmonds and co rack up the penalty minutes, dominate them at the dot and heavily outshoot them while hoping a few find their wy through. We're hoping newly acquired Marleau can be the vet prescene this team needs to push deep into the playoffs. The Leafs have a great squad up front, but this will come down to goaltending and we're hopeful that Bishop can outshine Mason.