The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs started yesterday, but the Maple Leafs had a day off and will start tonight. I don’t think there’s any adequate way to capture the anticipation, the fear, and the excitement of the game in the minds of Leafs Fans right now.

All the media hot takes, all the statistical analysis, all the fandom, all of it is off the table tonight. Whatever you have thought about the Leafs this season, tonight, all of us together, will hold our collective breath and watch the game together as fans.

So let’s do this! We’ll have a preview of tonight’s game up with line ups and any breaking news later this morning.

Meanwhile the Marlies are closing out their regular season and defeated the Belleville Senators last night. Marchment was just doing what Marchment does in the game. Scoring the sick goals.

MASON. MARCHMENT. MARVELOUS!

Canada will play Germany today in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Hocmey Championships.

ICYMI
Here’s what we wrote about yesterday.

The Newfoundland Growlers are coming to Brampton for the ECHL playoffs - elseldo
This is your best chance to see the Maple Leafs new ECHL affiliate up close.

Maple Leafs and Bruins lines from the second practice day - Katya
Not much has changed as Boston continues to deal with some injuries to depth players.

Other News

Oh my, did the Stanley Cup Playoffs even not start as we expected.

First, the Blue Jackets beat the Lightning 4-3.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Bolts lost their first game to the team that barely scraped and clawed their way into the playoffs. Steven Stamkos had zero points in the gane.

The Penguins may have lost Erik Gudbranson during their OT loss last night.

The Stars defeated the Predators, despite the work of Brian Boyle (and who even knew he was on the Predators now?)

Finally, the Sharks dumped the Golden Knights and that combination of Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson is sure something to behold.

Oh and the Jets lost too. Good.

Other News

How do this year’s Bruins and Leafs lineups compare to last year’s groups? - Stanley Cup of Chowder
There have been some significant changes on both sides.

Are the Leafs due to upset the favoured Bruins? -Vintage Leaf Memories
“Those of us a bit (a lot, actually) older also well recall that we faced and lost to the "Big Bad Bruins" of Orr, Espo, Cheevers, Bucyk, Hodge, Cashman, Sanderson and other great Bruins in the spring of 1969, 1972 and 1974.”

Hughes or Kakko? Either way, it’s franchise-altering for the Rangers - Blueshirt Banter
Excluding the remote possibility (and yes, it’s remote) that the Rangers go way off the board with their second-overall selection, they will be landing one of Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko.

The Athletic Looks to Disrupt Podcasting – Toronto Sports Media Blog
In addition to newly acquired podcasts, The Athletic will also be moving their existing local podcasts behind the paywall.

Five Questions 2.0: St. Louis Food Edition - Arctic Ice Hockey
I had no idea that fried ravioli originated in St. Louis.

Maple Leafs PlayoffsFrom The Branches