Tip of the Tower
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Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 key factors to beating Boston Bruins in Round 1

By David Morassutti

John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs flips a puck back by Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs flips a puck back by Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts after Sean Kuraly #52 of the Boston Bruins scored during the second period of Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at TD Garden. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Get an early win in Boston

While the Leafs have struggled playing in Boston, they did manage to win a game to force Game 6 when they were on the ropes. The last thing the Leafs will want to do is give the Bruins any mental edge and the best way is to try and steal either Games 1 or 2 on the road.

They did it against the Washington Capitals in 2017 and it gave them an instant boost returning home for Game 3 which they ended up winning in overtime. This put pressure on Washington to avoid going down 3-1 heading back to Washington but they ended up turning things around.

The Leafs are good enough on the road where they won’t have as many issues with the Bruins having last change. At the same time, Boston is not an easy place to play as they went 29-9-3 at TD Garden. The intensity of playing in that building will be a factor so the Leafs should try to do whatever they can to take that advantage away from Boston.

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