Leafs GM Dave Nonis expects injured centre Tyler Bozak will be ready for Game 1 of the Leafs’ opening-round playoff series with Boston.

That game comes Wednesday, but there’s also a “chance” that Bozak may not be healthy enough to play, said Nonis after the Leafs practised Monday. “But our expectations are that he will be ready.”

Bozak was but one of numerous storylines and issues facing the Leafs on the first day of the playoffs. And what a day it was: 34 people from the media alone in coach Randy Carlyle’s scrum; more media in the dressing room than players.

The Leafs played an expected card Monday, saying they were the underdogs in the series with Boston. But with the Leafs stumbling a bit down the stretch and the Bruins going 2-5-2 over their last nine regular season games, the series will start out as a battle to see which club can right its game first.

“You can look at (the Bruins) and see they have a lot of experience, not far removed from a Cup, and you can say that makes us underdogs,” GM Dave Nonis said. “But I also think that doesn’t mean anything (in the playoffs). You have to play the games. You prepare your team and our coaching staff has done that, so you see where you are after seven games.”

Without question, the Leafs will need Bozak and their entire lineup at their very peak to handle what is expected to be an intense physical matchup with Boston.

Bozak, though, appeared uncomfortable Monday as he tested a suspected problem with his shoulder for the first time since the injury last Wednesday in Tampa. He took another round of shots on the Rapid Shot shooting surface, then dressed in full gear and skated with his teammates in regular practice.

It was his first on ice appearance since the injury, and he exited the practice after less than 15 minutes, something that left the impression he’s still experiencing an unmanageable amount of pain.

In fact, he appeared to have difficulty shooting the puck while he was on the ice. He skated well enough, but he limited his shooting to backhands and weak flicks on the forehand.

Still, the Leafs expect — for now — that he will be back at his regular spot Wednesday, centring the club’s top line with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk.

“(Bozak) skated before practice, then he skated for a couple of drills, then left,” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. “Hopefully his ailments subside so that he’s available to our hockey club. It’s really up to the player … medically we do what we can but until the player tells us he’s ready, he’s day to day.”

Bozak is facing a scenario familiar to every playoff-bound player: playing because it’s the playoffs, playing through pain, helping the team any way you can. At any other juncture in the regular season, it’s likely he is out a week or so to recover properly.

Bozak is also the Leafs’ top faceoff man, and that will be crucial against a Bruins team that is one of the best in the league at faceoffs and dictating puck possession.

The Leafs took precautions Monday, and had centre Mikhail Grabovski taking faceoffs long after practice ended. At the moment, though, Toronto does not have a faceoff man who can match Bozak’s faceoff success rate of 55 to 60-plus per cent per game.

In the meantime, the Leafs enter the series with a 1-2-1 record this season against Boston. Arguably, they played their best hockey of the season against the Bruins, and it was also a strong answer to the past two seasons, when the Leafs lost eight consecutive games.

Boston also has home ice advantage, and they are 12-3 over the past 15 games against Toronto at TD Garden.

Nonis wasn’t buying too far into those stats, though.

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“I don’t think track records mean a whole lot now,” Nonis said.

“It’s how you are playing now, and I say we’ve played them as hard as we ever had in the past four (years). Our games have been overall good and that’s how you base our play going forward. If you look at the sweeps (from the past two years), I can tell you I don’t think I see that happening going forward in the playoffs.”

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