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The Toronto Maple Leafs started locking up their unsigned draft picks on Tuesday, signing 2015 second round pick Jeremy Bracco to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The 20-year-old Long Island native has 83 points (25 goals,58 assists) in 57 games with the Kitchener Rangers and Windsor Spitfires of the OHL and scored five points for Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Bracco's contract begins in the 2017-18 season, but would be eligible to play in the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout contract after the Spitfires season is over, but they are hosting the Memorial Cup which means he will be unavailable until late May.
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The scoreboard clock did not work for the first two periods of the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs game on Monday, and that was symbolic of the type of game it was.
Through 40 minutes, the contest closely resembled how the Bruins played when they were one of the best teams in the NHL earlier this decade, with names like Bergeron, Marchand, Chara, Krejci and Rask leading the way.
"I'll send a stick over after the game" pic.twitter.com/AtsRYRZWUC
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 21, 2017
But in the third period, the clock moved forward and so did the Leafs, who scored three times in a 4-2 win at Air Canada Centre.
The victory moved Toronto to within one point of the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division and marked the first time since 1924-25 that Toronto swept the season series against Boston.
“I thought we got more and more competitive as the game went on. I thought we played better and better.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “(It was) a real good win for our team obviously. I didn't like to give up the last goal, but a good win for our team. It felt good.…
David Backes and Morgan Rielly exchanged first period goals and the excellent goaltending performances by Tuukka Rask and Frederik Andersen kept the two sides off the scoreboard until the last two minutes of regulation.
With the game tied 1-1 and ex-Leaf Dominic Moore in the penalty box for interference, Tyler Bozak scored his 17th goal of the season to break the tie.
William Nylander and Nazem Kadri scored into an empty net to provide the Leafs some insurance, which was needed as Moore scored late in regulation to narrow the winning margin to two goals.
The Leafs took full advantage of their game in hand on the New York and Tampa Bay, moving three points ahead of the Islanders and four points in front of the Lightning in the race for an Eastern Conference wildcard spot and earned three of a possible four points in tough home games against Chicago and Boston.
“I think we've done a real good job this year finding ways to get points and grinding. Sometimes we don't get the two we'd like to have.… Babcock said. “We’ve found a way to get points on a lot of nights and tonight was another night against a good team with really high-end players with good experience who can hurt you and have been in a lot of situations. We haven't been in a lot of them and I thought we still did a good job and found a way to win.…
Toronto will not practice on Tuesday prior to traveling to Columbus for the first of back-to-back contests with the Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
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