|
Leafs sweep Bruins, win fourth straight; Listen to the Convo |
|
|
|
|
|
For the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
The Toronto Maple Leafs were the beneficiaries of good goaltending, opportunistic offense and contributions from their special teams in a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.
Mitch Marner, James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Rielly and Patrick Marleau scored for Toronto, who won their fourth game in a row and sixth straight over their Atlantic Division rival. Backup Curtis McElhinney made 38 saves for his second victory of the season and with the win, the Leafs move to 12-7-0.
The Leafs took advantage of Bruins mistakes early in the game. Marner, who had not scored a goal over a month (18 games), intercepted an errant Brandon Carlo pass and beat Tuukka Rask midway through the first period to give Toronto the lead.
The Bruins defenseman contributed to Toronto extending their lead later in the period, as Carlo was in the penalty box when van Riemsdyk deflected a Nazem Kadri shot to make it 2-0. The two-goal margin lasted less than a minute, as Frank Vatrano deflected a Torey Krug point shot past McElhinney.
“Scoring first was good and we were able to just be patient and not get into a rush.” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “The Bozak line scored again, which is a real positive for us. James (van Riemsdyk) has kind of caught fire, which is good.”
After a scoreless middle frame, Boston had their best opportunity of the game to tie the game, as Dominic Moore’s minor with Andreas Borgman already in the box gave the Bruins a two-man advantage for 67 seconds.
The penalty-killing unit of Leo Komarov, Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev clogged up the shooting lanes of the Boston power play and were able to limit the Bruins scoring chances.
After killing off both minors, Toronto extended their lead moments later to 3-1, as Rielly’s wrist shot deflected off Danton Heinen and Carlo past Rask and played effective defensively in the third, preventing Boston from getting back into the game and getting an insurance tally from Marleau into the empty net.
“Obviously, the 5-on-3 penalty kill was huge in the game to say the least. [McElhinney] did a good job as well.” Babcock said. “It's a good week for our team. Any time you get four wins in a week it's a good week, so, good for us.”
The Leafs were able to circle the wagons without Auston Matthews in the lineup and get more contributions from throughout their lineup (Van Riemsdyk – 3 goals, 1 assist,
Marner – 1 goal, 3 assists, Rielly – 1 goal 3 assists, Marleau – 3 goals, 0 assists, Kadri – 1 goal, 2 assists and Hyman – 0 goals, 2 assists).
With four days until the next game, the club will get some rest and hopes to get their scoring leader back on the ice in preparation for the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
“I don't know exactly (what the timetable is for Matthews), we'll see what goes on there.” Babcock said. “I think it's good for our team to get a day off, we're going to practice and then take another day off and practice again.”
*******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:
»