Tonight is a special night for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they take on the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their 2013 Stanley Cup playoff series.
The series moves from the TD Garden in Boston—widely regarded as one of the rowdiest buildings in the NHL—to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, giving the Maple Leafs faithful their first home playoff game in nine years.
In what must have been a mildly out-of-body experience for Toronto fans, they watched as their Leafs opened their first playoff series in nearly a decade on the road in Boston. Now they are home and will look to build off of a huge Game 2 victory.
There's no question that the Leafs will have an incredible home-ice advantage. Most hockey fans probably don't even remember what a home game sounds like in Toronto. We'll all be quickly reminded tonight.
On the ice, the Leafs will look to Phil Kessel to maintain the momentum he created for himself by finally scoring against his old team in Game 2. Joffrey Lupul has also been electric, and the Leafs could benefit from getting their top scorers away from the likes of Zdeno Chara while utilizing their last change on home ice.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are back where they began after a tough Game 2 loss. The offense dried up in that game, and Boston was outplayed through long patches before Toronto went into turtle mode to protect a two-goal lead.
One guy that needs to be better for the B's is Jaromir Jagr. He was brought in to provide scoring depth, but hasn't provided much of a spark for the Bruins. Tyler Seguin has been phenomenal and Milan Lucic seems to have shaken his recent bout with the snake bite.
Tyler Seguin was incredible in Game 2. He put the puck on net at nearly every chance, and was far and away the best and most effective forward for the Bruins in Game 2.
Milan Lucic had a quiet game, as did Jaromir Jagr. The Leafs can't expect those two to stay quiet forever however, and Jagr in particular could be dangerous tonight.
Phil Kessel, of course, will look to build off of a goal in Game 2. He hasn't been effective at all against his former team, but a good game tonight could put all that in the rear view for good.
While Joffrey Lupul was outstanding, Nazem Kadri was good as well and the pair could benefit from having the last change and getting away from the likes of Zdeno Chara.
Perhaps more than any other player on the ice, Dion Phaneuf needs to have a strong Game 3. He was noticeably mediocore in Games 1 and 2, and he needs to be bigger for Toronto. Big hits on guys like Seguin and Brad Marchand while making clean passes would be a huge boon for the Leafs.
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