from Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star,

As they capped the regular season with a meaningless dud of a 6-5 shootout loss to the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs wanted to be clear about one thing: They’d appreciate it if Leafs Nation would quit it with the nitpicking and the negativity.

For instance, all this talk about the Maple Leafs being cast as underdogs to the Bruins in the lead-up to Game 1 of their impending first-round playoff series. Head coach Mike Babcock clearly doesn’t much like it.

“I don’t know. I checked the standings today. It looked like we’re a pretty good team,” Babcock huffed on Saturday when he was asked about it.

In other words, never mind the historical record that says the Maple Leafs haven’t defeated the Bruins in a post-season series since 1959. Or that the Bruins, speaking of the more recent past, eliminated the Maple Leafs from the playoffs last season and in 2013, both with soul-crushing Game 7 comebacks. Or that Boston beat Toronto three times in four tries during this past regular season. Set aside the fact the Maple Leafs, as the lower seed, are starting on the road for the third straight year. Forget the seven-point gap in the standings.

“We know the skill that we have in here. I don’t think there’s a lack of skill where we have to see ourselves as underdogs,” said defenceman Travis Dermott.

continued