Losers in two straight, a three-game losing streak for the Boston Bruins seemed not only unthinkable, but completely unacceptable given the bounty of gifts the Black-and-Gold have been on the receiving end of during the stretch.

Failing to beat Montreal backup Peter Budaj on Sunday night, and then blowing a 3-0 lead to Braden Holtby and the woeful Washington Capitals on Tuesday, science told us that a Thursday night visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs (a team they’ve beaten in seven straight contests), surely couldn’t extend Boston’s misery to three straight.

Turning to Anton Khudobin for the second time in four games, the 26-year-old was tested early and often when a shorthanded B’s squad left Phil Kessel in front of the Boston net all alone, forcing Khudobin to make a splitting stop on the Bruin-turned-Leaf, and setting the course for what’d be an active first period headlined by 10 stops for the Bruins’ backup. Deadlocked at zero-zero, and with time winding down in the first, Brad Marchand outworked a winded Toronto defense, allowing the 21-year-old Tyler Seguin to use his wheels to drive towards the Leafs’ Ben Scrivens. But when the B’s sniper couldn’t put it by Scrivens, the B’s model of consistency Patrice Bergeron came in to bang the rebound home, good for his sixth goal of the season, and a 1-0 lead.

Toronto answered back, however, when Nazem Kadri’s hot streak continued when he and linemate Clarke MacArthur capitalized on a 2-on-1, and beat Khudobin for his seventh goal of the year. Extending his point streak to seven games, and knotting things up in the Hub, the Bruins countered back when a filthy wrister from Seguin put Boston back on top just five minutes later.

Prompting a sellout crowd to give their annual thanks to the Leafs’ Phil Kessel for his desire to leave Boston in favor of a fatter contract elsewhere back in Sept. 2009, the club extended their lead to two when David Krejci backhanded a rebound home for his sixth goal of the year, and first since Feb. 26 against the New York Islanders.

Giving the Bruins a dreaded two-goal lead heading into the final frame, and with a 5-2-1 record in 2013 when leading after two, the sixth worst in the entire league, a snoozer of a third period saw the Bruins and Leafs combine for a R.E.M.-inducing 15 shots, five from a Maple Leafs squad that seemed content with losing without a fight. Yet, if their effort (or lack thereof) didn’t tell you all you needed to know, the dagger from the Black-and-Gold came on a Seguin empty-netter thrown into an empty cage with a mere 15 seconds to play, securing a 4-2 win for the B’s, their eighth straight over the Blue-and-White.

Thank You, Kessel: Seguin continues to torch Leafs

Hindsight is 20/20, and who knows how anything involving the 2009-10 Maple Leafs would’ve played out if not for the Phil Kessel trade, but could you imagine if Toronto had the No. 2 overall pick and drafted Brampton, Ont.’s own Tyler Seguin?

The stars, however, didn’t align for the Leafs, and instead, Kessel ended up in Leafland, and Seguin in Boston. And it’s been a completely absurd slant in Boston’s favor ever since.

Aside from the obvious Cup victory in 2011 (albeit one that came with just one round of contributions from Seguin), a lopsided rivalry between the B’s and Leafs has formed as a result of this trade, with Seguin serving as one of Toronto’s ultimate killers, something reinforced tonight with yet another Boston victory over the Maple Leafs.

“I’d like to say no,” Seguin told the media when asked if it means more for Seguin to play against the Leafs. “I mean I try to prepare for every game but tonight I thought we did a good job, I think all of our goals our line scored so it was a total line effort whether it was winning battles or making nice passes.”

Finishing the night with two goals and three points, bumping his career figures up to 10 goals and six assists in just 14 games against the Maple Leafs, an obvious eye-opener of a stat for any frustrated Leaf fan.

“It’s always exciting when you’re playing your hometown,” B’s coach Claude Julien said of Seguin’s success against the Leafs. “At the same time, he’s been playing much better in the last couple weeks, he’s really picked up his game. Hopefully, that’s just a continuation of what we’re going to see from him from now until the end of the year.”

The same, however, cannot be said for Kessel, who finished last night’s game with a minus-2 rating and just two shots on goal, and how has just three goals and nine points in 20 games against the Black-and-Gold.

Khudobin becoming comfortable with role

Boston’s Anton Khudobin won’t be stealing the starting job any time soon, but his presence does in fact give Claude Julien and company a viable option when the team needs a slump-busting win like Thursday’s showing against Toronto.

Stoning 25 of 27 Toronto shots en route to his fourth win of the season, and ninth win in just 12 games at the NHL level, the 26-year-old Kazakh has been more than comfortable with his transition to Boston.

“Everything is fine,” Khudobin said when asked about his role, “Life is good.”

Boasting a 5-1-0 with the Bruins since joining the big league club last April, Khudobin’s been a capable and reliable presence in the B’s net, with a .927 save-percentage.

“That’s what you want to get from your backup goaltender. He played well tonight,” Julien said following the win, Khudobin’s second straight. “That second goal, you could see he was mad, he felt he should have had it, but he made some real good saves throughout the whole game. I thought he was solid. It certainly makes our team feel better when you know no matter who you put in net they’re going to give you a solid performance.”

Hey, here’s something new: Soderberg to Boston following SEL playoffs?

He’s the Boston Yeti, I know, but TSN’s Darren Dreger had a more than interesting tidbit during the first intermission of Thursday’s Bruins-Leafs game; It appears that prospect that never was and Swedish goal-scorer, Carl Soderberg, is finally going to come over to Boston following the conclusion of the Swedish Elite League playoffs.

Acquired by the Bruins in exchange for goaltender Hannu Toivonen back in 2007, the 6-foot-3 Soderberg has been a force for Linkoping HC in 2012-13, with 31 goals and 60 points in just 54 games.

Drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 49th overall pick back in 2004, taken ahead of fellow Swedish forward Johan Franzen, there’s no doubt that Soderberg has the talent to compete in the National Hockey League, but Bruins fans have heard this before, and will without question take a ‘we’ll see’ approach to any potential Soderberg to Boston story.

The latest word, however, is incredible positive: “Close.”

Up next...

Following a snowy Friday in Boston, the Bruins will return to the ice for a Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers, who will surely have a bee under their bonnet following losses to both the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bruins are 3-0-0 in day games this season.

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