Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Key Matchups to watch vs. Boston Bruins

The Toronto Maple Leafs will engage in a tough battle with the Boston Bruins in round one of the NHL playoffs, with some important matchups to watch.

With a chance to settle the score from 2013, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a tough road ahead of them against the Boston Bruins in round one of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Despite a 3-1 record against their Atlantic Division rivals this season, two of the games were decided by a goal. It is a bit surprising that Boston did not put up a better effort in their season finale and set up a series against the New Jersey Devils instead of Toronto.

For the Leafs, this is not going to be a walk in the park considering how the Bruins turned things around after a tough start to the season.

The Leafs certainly feel more confident this time around in the playoffs, considering how tough they made it on the Washington Capitals last season.

They understood that to go far in the playoffs they had to play either Boston or Tampa Bay along the way, but they also know they were not playing with their best effort.

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star wrote about how the game against the Nashville Predators was the Leafs’ preview of what to expect in the playoffs.

"“I feel like we’ve had games where we haven’t played our best and won,”  defenceman Morgan Rielly told Arthur. “But the way we approached the game in Nashville was, this is a test. Are we as good as these guys? Can we beat these guys? “When we played Nashville, we knew how good they were, and it was a test. But after we clinched, it’s human nature, it’s hard to keep yourself up. It’s harder than playing when you’re out of the playoffs. Because when you’re out of it you’re trying to make an impression and you’re still playing hard because you want to stay. When you’re in … it’s hard to get motivated to go out and play hard and block shots.”"

Here are the key matchups to watch for between the Leafs and Bruins.