Babcock fires a shot at Bruins fans ahead of Game One

In the least surprising matchup of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs are set to due battle once again. Once it became clear that the Tampa Bay Lightning were going to run away with the Atlantic Division, say around January or so, it was pretty apparent that the Bruins and Leafs would meet in the first round, once again. 

Last season, of course, it was the Bruins who prevailed in a highly entertaining seven game series. 

And, of course, the ghosts of 2013 are still haunting Leafs fans six years later…

Suffice it to say that Boston’s TD Garden is hostile territory for the Leafs… or is it? Leafs head coach Mike Babcock isn’t buying it…

"As much as you say it’s a hostile environment, I’ve never seen a fan play yet. It’s going to be on the ice, amongst two teams. They know what we’re about and we know what they’re about."

Fair enough. The game is played on the ice, not in the stands and not in the media. But, to ignore the fact that the Leafs have struggled at TD Garden is just disingenuous. In any case, you just KNOW that Bruins fans will let Babcock hear just how hostile they can be when the puck drops on Game One this Thursday evening.