Hello Maple Leafs fans! It’s been a few years since we’ve had a cheering guide and I’m very excited to bring it back as a daily feature for the remainder of the regular season.
What we’ll be doing is late in the afternoon each day, go through the games for the night, and what outcomes are best for the Maple Leafs playoff chase.
Simple and fun, let’s get to it.
Right now the Maple Leafs are sitting in the third spot in the Atlantic Division with 67 points, three points behind the Ottawa Senators for second, and five back of the Montreal Canadiens for first place. Nipping at their heels for that spot are the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins with 66 points each. The final Wild Card spot in the East is held right now by the New York Islanders, who also have 66 points.
It’s going to be a tight race for the next two months, and lots of scoreboard watching. Here are the teams we should be cheering for tonight:
New York Rangers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
7:30PM - TVA Sports, Sportsnet Ontario, MSG
Cheer for: The Leafs, dummies. Check out Arvind’s preview here.
New York Islanders @ Montreal Canadiens
7:30PM - RDS, Sportsnet East, MSG+
This is a hard choice. Do we (ugh) root for the Habs to keep that wild card spot open? Or are we all in and want to catch up to Montreal for the division title?
Cheer for: Montreal. I know, I know, but we’re one loss from falling out of the division playoff spots, so keeping that wild card spot in our reach is a betting option to me. Ugh. I feel so dirty.
Calgary Flames @ Tampa Bay Lightning
7:30PM - Sun, Sportsnet West
Cheer for: Calgary. Always cheer for the western team when they’re on the proper side of the continent.
Boston Bruins @ Los Angeles Kings
10:30PM - Sportsnet, Fox Sports West, NESN
Cheer For: Los Angeles. We need to keep the Bruins from 1) knocking us out of a playoff spot and 2) we don’t want the Bruins keeping the first round from being Toronto vs Ottawa.
Western Conference games that don’t matter at all
Predators over Avalanche - I want Colorado to sell big and dumb over the next week.
Coyotes over Blackhawks - I’ve had enough of Chicago winning thank you very much.
That’s it for tonight. As always, Go Leafs Go!