If the Boston Bruins lived in a world without second periods, they’d be unstoppable.

Granted, their play in the middle frame throughout this season has told us that they don’t believe in them, but unfortunately for Boston, they do. And it was once again a second period no-show that lead to their downfall as the Toronto Maple Leafs escaped the TD Garden with two points behind a 4-3 victory.

The Bruins opened up the night’s scoring 3:38 into the first period behind Brad Marchand’s 11th goal of the season. Scored on a rebound from a sweet move in and shot from right winger Reilly Smith, Marchand’s goal was good for just No. 63’s second in the past eight games.

Toronto answered just 2:14 later though with Tyler Bozak’s eighth goal of the year, beating an outstretched Tuukka Rask and knotting these Atlantic rivals up at 1-1.

The seesaw battle was on.

Boston regained the lead with a slick wraparound from Patrice Bergeron -- upheld after a quick review -- giving the Bruins’ alternate captain his 11th of the season and two-point night for both he and Marchand. But the Maple Leafs, just 1:59 later and on the power play, brought the sides even once more, and once again off the stick of Bozak.

It was an exchange that left the Leafs with two goals on just five shots, and one Claude Julien simply baffled with the play of the defensemen in front of Rask.

Skating to a 2-2 draw through 20 minutes, the second period brought about a familiar tale of horror for the Black-and-Gold. Falling behind for the first time on the night behind Jake Gardiner’s power play strike, and finishing the period outshot by the visiting Leafs 13-to-11, it was a goal that Rask should’ve had, and one that put the B’s in a 2-3 hole through 40 minutes of play.

Through 41 minutes, thanks to James van Riemsdyk, it was 4-2, Toronto.

To that point, the 26-year-old Rask’s stat-line read four goals on 21 shots. Not what you’d like to see from your undisputed No. 1 goaltender, and seemingly all too common as of late.

But as the Bruins began to claw their way back into the thick of things, dominating the pace of play in the third, Rask had his moments of redemption. He made a huge stop on Nazem Kadri, and was instrumental in a late period penalty-kill. And with the Bruins bringing themselves within one thanks to Gregory Campbell’s nifty goal 9:35 into the period, the time for the Bruins to throw the house against the Leafs’ bend-don’t-break defense was upon us.

Spending nearly the entire second half of the period in the Toronto end, and throwing everything but assistant coach Doug Houda at the Leafs’ net, the Bruins’ efforts came up just short, as they couldn’t find the game-tying marker on any of their 15 third period shots and fell, 4-3.

It was a fitting punishment for these hot-and-cold Bruins. When looking at the struggles of the Black-and-Gold, it’s a simple, tiresome formula that we seem to come back to again and again-- the Bruins were an absolute disaster in the middle frame. Again. Again. And again.

At some point this year, and if they want to make a legitimate run at their second Stanley Cup in four years, the Bruins will have to find a way around these problems. Through 46 games this year, the Bruins have scored the 25th fewest second period goals in the league (36), and have been outscored by four from the 20:01 to 40:00 point of games. That’s just not good enough. It’s as simple as that.

Tonight wasn’t good enough, either.

Just look at what the Bruins were able to do in the first and third period in comparison to their middle frame. In the first, the Bruins attempted 20 shots (and got 15 of them on net) and held the Leafs to just 10 (seven of theirs hit Rask). In the third period, Boston utterly pasted Toronto, attempting 22 shots (connecting on 15) and limiting the Leafs to 10 once again (they connected for shots on goal on just six of those 10). But in the second period, the Leafs and Bruins attempted an even 18 shots each.

But beyond the forgettable second period, just what went wrong for the Bruins tonight?

The Bruins’ top line -- which accounted for a grand total of one point on the club’s considerably disappointing California swing -- was once again invisible. Despite combining for seven shots on the night (Jarome Iginla had four, Milan Lucic three, and zero for David Krejci), the line that at times had simply dominated and pinned the Maple Leafs in their own zone for extended periods of time were pedestrian, Krejci most notably, who had nothing to show for his so-so effort tonight aside from a minus-1 in almost 23 minutes of time on ice.

It doesn’t concern you when these guys post zeros against the defensive core of the Sharks, Kings, or Ducks, but when it’s against the Maple Leafs, a team known for its porous defense, it’s concerning. Especially when you see that the trio has combined for just one goal, three points, and a tame 33 shots on goal in their last six games, though Lucic dressed for just five of those due to the flu.

Oh, and on top of the top line's no-show and on top of the second period nightmare, the Boston penalty kill continued its road to absolute ruin, killing off just three of the Leafs' five power plays on the night.

The Bruins, were in a word, inconsistent. As they have been for quite some time now.

There’s obvious positives in a game where the Bruins peppered Jonathan Bernier for 41 shots, but coming up short on home ice in spite of such an advantage on the board is tough to swallow if you’re in the Boston room, but one you’ll build off if you’re a Maple Leaf.

“Maturity,” Bernier said of what the club can take from this regulation victory, just their third in the past 27 contests. “I think it’s not easy to come in this building especially [with] what they went through last year, losing Game seven, it shows a lot of character for that team to come here and win.”

With the loss, Boston falls to 2-1-0 against the Maple Leafs in 2013-14.

Thornton makes Garden return

It had been a long five weeks without Shawn Thornton for the Boston Bruins.

One of the club’s emotional leaders, the 36-year-old Thornton, who returned to action after his 15-game suspension this past Saturday, made his return to Garden ice tonight, and wasted no time in doing what he does best. Engaging in a spirited bout with Toronto’s Frazer McLaren, the sellout crowd let their feelings for No. 22 be known, giving him a standing ovation following the fight.



It’s clear that Thornton screwed up back on Dec. 7 when he attacked Brooks Orpik from behind, earning his 15-game ban. But it’s also known throughout the Hub and beyond that Thornton’s no dirtbag that wants to see a guy taken off the ice on a stretcher. That’s not his style, and Boston knows that, and it’s fairly obvious that Thornton isn’t planning on looking behind him, playing tonight’s game with the same raw energy you’ve come to expect.

Up next

The Bruins head to Dallas for a Thursday night showdown with Tyler Seguin and the Stars. Dallas took the only other meeting between the two this year, with Seguin and Rich Peverley sinking Rask and Boston via the shootout.

Join the Discussion: » 18 Comments » Post New Comment

» Leafs tie series while B's suffer massive loss on D

» Bruins keeping goalie plans a mystery for Game 2

» Swayman leads Bruins to Game 1 victory

» Plans in goal being kept secret; Injury updates aplenty

» Roster moves highlight Game 82 planning