Greg Wyshysnki Of Puck Daddy On Adam Jones: Maple Leafs Would Have Preferred Montreal Over Boston
Boston is ready for the Bruins' Stanley Cup playoff run to begin, and to help preview the NHL's postseason, Adam Jones welcomed Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog on the show.
Wyshsynski said that the Bruins must not have been high on the Maple Leafs' list for desired postseason opponents. That's in part due to Boston's recent success against Toronto, and also due to Phil Kessel being rendered almost completely ineffective in games against his old team.
"Of course it factors in, specifically thinking about Phil Kessel and the lack of success he's had against the Bruins," Wyshysnki said. "You're talking about essentially the offensive engine of the Toronto Maple Leafs playing a team that he doesn't have success against. And if you're able to trot out [Zdeno] Chara, trot out [Patrice] Bergeron, trot out the usual Kessel stoppers in this series, I think it's not a very favorable matchup for the Maple Leafs."
Though the Kessel trade is four years old, it remains the most-discussed topic any time Kessel faces the Bruins.
"Every time he faces this team, it's the thing that he's gotta deal with, and it certainly has manifested itself in some subpar performances on the ice," Wyshsynski said. "That's why I think that Toronto would've much rather faced Montreal in the first round than Boston, because not only is Boston a tough opponent, but you have to deal with all that ancillary stuff, all that history, all that lack of success that their star players had against this team."
Wyshynski also discussed how big a series it is for Tuukka Rask, what is his biggest question about the Bruins, and who he thinks will win it all come late June.
