Maple Leafs vs Columbus may be the series to watch this playoffs!

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets have a lot of similarities for two teams that play such different styles. As the league continues to coordinate their comeback, it's being reported these two clubs will play each other in the first round of the 24-team tournament, and fans will be loving every minute of this battle.
The 8th and 9th ranked teams in the East finished off the shortened regular seasons with 81 points and an identical .579 points %. They played twice during the regular season and each won a game, although you would have to circle back to October of last year to find those results.

The Maple Leafs enter this series with one of the most powerful offenses in the league. A team that can score at will and score in bunches, the Blue Jackets will have a tall task trying to stop Auston Matthews and company in a short series. The Leafs have an attack that's led by 4 guys with at least 59 points each, meanwhile CBJ leading scorer, Pierre-Luc Dubois sits at 49 points. If Columbus is going to stand any chance, they will need to play their shut down style, block a ton of shots, and somehow manage a couple of scummy goals past Freddie Andersen. Having Seth Jones fully healthy gives Columbus a fighter's chance in this bout.

With any playoff series, the wins will come down to timely goals and special teams. The Leafs have a potent power play, clipping at a 23.1% mark, and noted considerably better since head coach, Sheldon Keefe took over and started playing his best plays together on PP1. For Columbus, they sit with a 16.4% clip, and of all the teams left standing in the East, they carry the worst power play. Music to the ears of Maple Leafs fans.

This will be a series built around offense vs defense. The Leafs will be coming in as healthy as ever, with the return of Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, and Ilya Mikheyev to the lineup. A huge boost for the blue and white, as they haven't been close to fully healthy in months. It will also help their chances to come in motivated as ever, as Freddie Andersen recently had this to say about the NHL's return:

I'm pretty open to pretty much anything that could be done to salvage the season, finish the season and get a Stanley Cup champion. 

For the Blue Jackets, if they stand any chance to win this series, it will be because of a goalie and his blue suede shoes.  Elvis is fired up to get this thing started, are you!?


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Photo Credit:  Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire