The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting healthy just in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but are going to need all hands on deck with their likely opponent being either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins.
The question is do Mike Babcock and the Leafs have a preference which 100-point team they want to face in the first round?
Goalie Frederik Andersen returned on Tuesday after missing a week with an upper body injury, defenseman Nikita Zaitsev got back in the lineup on Thursday after a six-game absence due to a severe case of the flu, and Auston Matthews scored in his first game in a month, a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.
MORE: NHL playoff matchups as season winds down
Toronto appears locked into third place in the Atlantic Division, but the top spot is still up for grabs. Boston trails Tampa Bay by four points after winning in Dallas on Friday, and the Bruins have a game in hand and face the Lightning two more times in the regular season.
The head-to-head results offer a slight window into the Leafs preference, as Tampa split their two games at Air Canada Centre and won both contests at Amalie Arena, while Toronto won three of four games against Boston, including a sweep of back-to-back games in early November.
Andersen’s career numbers provide further evidence, as he has enjoyed success against the Bruins (10-1-0 in 11 starts, with a 2.09 GAA and .935 save percentage), while his numbers have been woeful when taking on Tampa (2-6-1 in nine starts, 3.74 GAA and .878 save percentage).
In spite of both clubs having great campaigns, the Lightning have to be considered the more difficult adversary based on their depth and experience.
Andrei Vasilevskiy remains a contender for the Vezina Trophy in spite of a tapering off of his performance after the All-Star break.
Tampa is tops in the NHL with 271 goals and matches Toronto’s three-line offensive attack with Hart Trophy candidate Nikita Kucherov, strength up the middle with Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson, Stanley Cup experience with veteran Chris Kunitz, and scoring depth with Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn and deadline addition JT Miller.
Lightning GM Steve Yzerman succeeded in outbidding the Leafs and a couple other teams prior to the trade deadline for Rangers team captain Ryan McDonagh. With Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, rookie Mikhail Sergachev and veteran Dan Girardi, Tampa has strengthened its blueline significantly.
MORE: Lightning's Ryan McDonagh reflects on trade, time with Rangers
Boston has had a remarkable year under Bruce Cassidy, with a powerful offense and a stifling defense that is second in the NHL with 188 goals against, but has encountered a slew of injuries down the stretch.
Tuukka Rask has not been as overworked as in years past, making just 47 starts (backup Anton Khoudobin has started 26)
The Bruins offense is led by arguably the best line in the league — Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak (which accounts for more than a third of their goals) — and are also getting production from rookies Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk, veterans David Krejci, David Backes and Riley Nash, as well as late additions Brian Gionta and Rick Nash.
Zdeno Chara has been a presence on the Boston blue line, but they are not solely dependent on the big Slovak anymore. Torey Krug leads the defense with 52 points and rookie Charlie McAvoy appears bound for stardom.
Bergeron has been out for almost a month with a broken foot. Chara, Krug, McAvoy, Backes, Nash and Debrusk are also out injured. While many or all are expected to return in time for the postseason, it is unknown how effective they will be operating at less than 100 percent.
While Boston still boasts a core group (Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Chara and Rask) that won a Stanley Cup in 2011 and reached the Cup final in 2013, the Bruins could be heavily dependent on youngsters with little or no playoff experience (McAvoy, DeBrusk, Carlo, Ryan Donato), which makes them more vulnerable in a playoff series.
The Leafs will have a difficult task no matter who they face, but the Bruins may offer a better opportunity to advance and also exorcise the ghost of their first-round loss to Boston five years ago.