The Maple Leafs did enough things right to squeeze out a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier had arguably his best game as a Leaf making 38 saves and holding off a late charge from the Atlantic Division leaders, who attempted to reenact the third period comeback in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals last May by nearly rallied from a two goal deficit to tie the game in the waning seconds of regulation.
“That ending would have been great last Spring… Leafs announcer Joe Bowen after Toronto’s 4-3 win on Tuesday
Toronto coach Randy Carlyle did his best to avoid the Phil Kessel-Zdeno Chara matchup and mixed up his lines effectively, playing the Leafs leading scorer with Nazem Kadri and Mason Raymond, while Joffrey Lupul was moved to play with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk.
Special teams were at the heart of the Toronto victory, as their penalty killing was successful in not allowing a goal during three Boston man advantages and their power play effectively moved the puck with speed and accurate passing, resulting in goals from Bozak and Jake Gardiner.
The club showed a resilience and strength of character that has been missing for most of the season. Brad Marchand scored 3:38 into the game on a rebound and Patrice Bergeron added another tally midway through the first on a wraparound, which in past games would have been enough for the psychologically fragile Leafs to disappear or go into a funk. But within two minutes of each goal, Toronto responded to tie the game, as Bozak converted the rebound of a Carl Gunnarsson shot past Boston goalie Tuukka Rask and scored again on the power play, courtesy of a curl pass from van Riesmdyk.
The physical play was heightened as would expected from two teams that have recently battled in the post-season, with a number of solid hits, fierce battles in front of both nets and a bout between enforcers Frazer McLaren and Shawn Thornton.
Van Riemsdyk’s 18th goal early in the third gave Toronto a two goal lead, which appeared to put the Leafs in a defensive mindset even during their two man advantages in the final twenty minutes. The Bruins scored to narrow the Toronto lead to 4-3 as Gardiner’s bounce pass behind the Toronto net was intercepted and centered to a wide open Gregory Campbell for his third goal of the year.
Most of the last six minutes were spent in the Toronto zone, as the Bruins maintained possession, cycled the puck and generated numerous scoring chances, but Bernier withstood the onslaught with the help of newcomer Tim Gleason, who blocked two point shots in the final minute to earn the Leafs their first regulation road victory since October 30 in Calgary.
The win is Toronto’s second straight and moves them into a tie with the New York Rangers with 51 points, one point in front of Detroit, Ottawa and New Jersey in the extremely tight battle for the two Eastern Conference wild card spots.
“We’ve raised our compete level and we’re going to have to continue to do that to get points.… Carlyle said after the game.
The two points earned in Boston were unexpected, based on the Leafs woeful road record since October(5-2 in October, 3-8-4 since). To make that unexpected victory more meaningful, they must follow it up with a comparable effort against the bottom dwelling Buffalo Sabres, who lost a 4-3 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Toronto faces their nearest geographic rival for the fifth and final time on Wednesday in the rubber match of the season series. Each club has won on both their games on home ice, with the most recent game being a 4-3 Leafs shootout victory on December 27.
A red hot Ryan Miller is expected to get the start for Buffalo after backup Jhonas Enroth started on Tuesday. Only a few skated this morning. Miller is 6-1-1 in his last 8 starts and has a career record of 31-15-2-1, 2.45 GAA, .922 save % and 4 shutouts against the Leafs. Defenseman Tyler Myers will return for the Sabres after being suspended three games for a head hit on New Jersey’s Dainius Zubrus.
It is expected that James Reimer will be in goal for Toronto in the second of back-to-back games, but he was one of the players stricken by the recent flu bug, which could result in Bernier making his fourth start in a row.
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TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on TSN Radio Tuesday that the Leafs and Ottawa Senators at one point this season discussed a deal involving defenseman Jake Gardiner for forward Mika Zibanejad. The 20-year-old former 6th overall pick in 2011 was demoted to Binghamton of the AHL early in the season, which is likely the time that Leafs GM Dave Nonis would have broached the offer.
Dreger stated that any chance of Zibanejad being moved inside the division was quickly quashed by Sens GM Brian Murray, but the rumor is consistent with the Leafs being willing to move the slick skating blueliner for a talented forward of comparable age.
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Toronto's penalty killing is currently ranked 27th in the NHL with a 77.8% success rate. On the road, they are 11th in the league with an 82.8% rate, but are dead last at home at 71.6%.
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A welcome sight for Leafs fans, center Dave Bolland on the ice for the morning skate at the ACC.
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