from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

When the trade deadline came and went with no last-minute reinforcements, a choice was made.

The Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t conforming to anyone else’s idea of what a playoff-type team has to look like. And they certainly weren’t constructing themselves in a manor specifically designed to withstand a best-of-seven with the Boston Bruins, who by Feb. 25 were already squarely on the radar as their likely Round 1 opponent.

“When you start building a team to play only one team in the playoffs, you start to lose your way a little bit and lose what you’re about,” Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said that day. “Time will be the judge whether that’s the right way to do it.”

The front office made a calculated bet here on speed and skill, rather than brawn and intimidation. They built a team that not only took the fewest penalties in the NHL this season, but also drew the fewest calls against them.

So here in the playoff cauldron with a series tied 1-1, and with the Bruins making no secret of their intentions to continue ramping up the physicality and intensity, and with Nazem Kadri already facing a lengthy suspension, the biggest challenge for the Leafs in Game 3 on Monday is an internal one.

Remaining true to themselves.

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