Everything appeared to be lined up for the Toronto Maple Leafs going into a critical Game 4 against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
They appeared to be confident after putting forth a good effort in Game 3 and caught a break just before puck drop when it was announced that Selke Trophy nominee Patrice Bergeron would not play.
Those positives did not seem to matter to the Boston Bruins, who got big performances from their veteran core group and took advantage of their few scoring chances, while the Leafs young guns were mostly silent in a 3-1 Boston victory at Air Canada Centre.
“I didn’t think we had everyone going. They scored on the first shift, I thought we took over and had the game well in control, even when we were down 2-1, I thought we were in a great spot,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said.
The Leafs makeshift second line of Patrick Marleau, Tomas Plekanec and Mitch Marner was their best and combined for their lone goal, but Toronto did not get big performances from the top scorers Auston Matthews and William Nylander, who were shutout for the third game in the series, and were let down by their defense, as Jake Gardiner’s ill-advised pinch late in the second period led to Brad Marchand’s game-winner.
“We had a breakaway and a 2-on-1, and we got nothing on it. Both of (Boston’s) 2-on-1’s, one on a pinch and one where we hit a guy on the kneepad, they buried and we didn’t make plays on them to help our goalie out.”
Through four games, the Leafs have had only a few bright spots and have generally been bested by a Bruins team built for the postseason. It is clear that for all the offensive talent and potential Toronto possesses, that the club as currently constructed are not good enough at playing tight-checking, playoff-style hockey.
During most of the regular season, Babcock continued to pound away at his youngsters that playing two-way was the only way to succeed in the playoffs, but they only had mixed results when trying to shut down their opposition and continued to rely on their ability to score to dig them out of problem situations.
Playing run-and-gun or wide-open hockey is not something that works in the playoffs or that a responsible defensive team like Boston will allow to occur, so the only hope that Toronto has in the series is to beat the Bruins at their own game and get their best players to play better.
“We just need to stay with it. We can be better like I said.” Matthews said on Friday. “This is a time where everybody needs to dig in down three games to one, but there's a lot of belief in this room. Like I said, we've got to win tomorrow because we want to come back here and play again.”
Facing elimination in Game 5 on Saturday, the Leafs will get Nazem Kadri back after serving a three-game suspension, but with the club not skating on Friday, it is unknown where the 30-goal scorer will be in the lineup.
Bergeron skated in Boston on Friday morning and CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty the Bruins center will play
if medically cleared, but that they might opt to keep him out another game since they have a commanding lead in the series.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»