It’s been a while since the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs were good at the same time which could make for an exciting series in the playoffs.
Opponents, combatants, enemies, rivals. Some of those words come to mind when describing the dynamic between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. But given the state of both teams, the fourth word hasn’t been as defined as it is with other teams.
The Habs and Leafs ironically have the same rival in the Boston Bruins who have given each a set of intense and energetic games both in the regular season and the playoffs. This season may be different though. The Leafs are reaping the benefits of all those years of mediocrity while the Habs have continued to take many hockey minds by surprise and set up as one of the league’s best.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said it best: This is the first year both teams look like real hockey clubs.
The proof is in the history books. The Montreal Canadiens have been the more consistent team as far as regular season success goes while the Leafs are only recently in the pool of teams expected to make the playoffs every year.
More from A Winning Habit
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
Both teams qualified for the postseason in 2017 though. Montreal finished first in the Atlantic Division while the Leafs squeaked into the eighth seed. But that’s not what Babcock is talking about.
The Habs were dominant that year while it could be argued the Leafs caught many teams by surprise with the play of their rookies. There wasn’t any true reassurance that what they accomplished put them in that ‘good hockey club’ field.
Before that, Montreal and Toronto made the playoffs in the 2012/13 shortened season, a season where it was clear the Leafs were playing far above their paygrade. Fun fact: that year for the Leafs were one of the triggers of the analytical world of hockey. The team won games and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference (back when 1-8 seeding was a thing), but they had no business being there relying heavily on goaltender James Reimer. The Leafs were very bad, and the Habs were pretty good.
Fast forward to this season, and both the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are good. Games between these two clubs would mostly be for bragging right, but there are some true stakes at hand. The Leafs are second in the Atlantic with 69 points while the Habs are right beneath them at 68. A Montreal win puts them in second and a step closer to putting more distance between themselves and Boston while putting a penny in the jar to lock in home-ice in the first round.
That series, by the way, would be the first time the Habs and Leafs meet in the playoffs since 1979! Montreal repeated the sweep from the second round the year before by handing Toronto a first-round exit.
It’s games like this as well as games in the playoffs that make a true rival. These kinds of matches push you to new levels and at the same time sends a message to your opponent. And if the season opener was any hint at what we expect to see, it should be an exciting match between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.