Leafs vs Preds GDT: Cheer the Leafs, boo these other teams

Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI

It’s time to bring back the cheering guide because a certain team couldn’t get its act together before the all star break.

Hello Toronto Maple Leafs fans! It’s time for yet another game of Leafs hockey and another game chat to use to yell into the infinite void and post GIFs.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Nashville Predators
8:00PM - TSN4, TVA Sports, FS Tennessee

While we cheer on the Maple Leafs to win tonight, this stupid team has forced me to bring back an old chestnut from days gone bye - the Cheering Guide.

Tonight there are three other teams in the Atlantic Division playing and it’s very important they lose, so the Leafs playoff odds improve. Let’s find out who needs to lose:

Washington Capitals (1st Metro Division)
@ Montreal Canadiens (2 spots back of the Maple Leafs)

The Canadiens are six points back of the Maple Leafs, and they’re playing a Capitals team that is missing Alex Ovechkin who is serving his suspension for skipping the All Star Game. The Habs are generally bad this year, but we still need to give the Capitals all the cheering we can so they can overcome missing their best player.

New Jersey Devils (2nd last in the East)
@ Ottawa Senators (3rd last in the East)

This game won’t matter to the Leafs playoff hopes, but I think we should cheer on the Senators to beat the Devils. I know, gross, but we want them to make that first round pick as bad as possible.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd Atlantic Division)
@ Dallas Stars (3rd Central Division)

This is an easy one, cheer for the Western Conference team, boo the division rival. The Lightning are five points ahead of the Leafs, and man wouldn’t it be funny if the Bolts missed the playoffs after their terrible playoff appearance last year? What kind of shenanigans would happen? Let’s cheer for that.

There are two other games tonight - St. Louis at Vancouver and Anaheim at San Jose - but they’re all Western Conference teams so it won’t affect the Leafs. I would recommend cheering on the Sharks, since the Senators hold their first round pick.

Alright folks, let’s game day.

Go Leafs Go!