Golden Knights insider Gary Lawless and NHL.com's Toronto-based staff writer Mike Zeisberger joined podcast co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke to go over the main topics of the Golden Knights and Maple Leafs.
Lawless defended Vegas coach Peter DeBoer's choice to start goalie Robin Lehner over Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Second Round against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
Lehner allowed seven goals on 37 shots and Vegas lost 7-1 at Ball Arena in Denver. Fleury is expected to start Game 2 on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) in front of a Vegas team that should be rested with two days off between games.
Lawless talked about the challenge the Golden Knights face if forward Mattias Janmark can't play in Game 2 after sustaining an injury on a hit from Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves in Game 1. He gave some ideas for what Vegas' lineup could look like if Janmark can't play.
Zeisberger went into detail about the fallout from the Maple Leafs' latest playoff setback. They blew a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens by losing Games 5 and 6 in overtime before getting eliminated with a 3-1 loss in Game 7 at home Monday.
Toronto has not won a playoff series since 2004 and is 0-8 in potential series-clinching games since 2018. Zeisberger, though, said this latest playoff loss is a headscratcher because he thought they put pieces in place in the offseason to avoid such a collapse.
Zeisberger also talked about the big questions that await the Maple Leafs in the offseason.
Do they trade one of Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner or William Nylander? Who is going to be their No. 1 goalie next season? Will the fallout of the loss impact president Brendan Shanahan, general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Sheldon Keefe?
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