The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins engaged in a tight, entertaining and emotional battle that you would expect between clubs that have faced each other in the playoffs two years in a row. After blowing a 2-0 lead and surrendering the tying goal to David Pastrnak with 4:26 remaining in regulation, Morgan Rielly scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give the Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Bruins at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Dmytro Timashov and Alex Kerfoot also tallied for Toronto, Mitch Marner had a pair of assists and Frederik Andersen was made 43 saves for his fifth victory of the season.
The Leafs made an adjustment to counter the Bruins top line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, pairing Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner (with Andreas Johnsson) for the first time this season and Toronto won that matchup on the night, as Marner set up Rielly for his first goal of the season and the high-paid duo combined on the game-winner with 1:06 left in overtime.
“We had talked about it two days ago. We kind of knew what we were going to do. We were going to play (William Nylander) with (Matthews) when he was in the offensive zone and that way it would set up when it was a matchup situation, we were going to play (Marner).” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “If we went with Matty in the O-zone, we wanted Mitchy to play with (Alex Kerfoot), so we could match that up and then we were going to match up (Frederik Gauthier) in D-zone.”
Babcock indicated that this power combo will likely not be kept together going forward, as Marner and John Tavares are a very effective combo and the return of Zach Hyman will make the Leafs a three-line offensive threat.
Toronto received solid contributions throughout their lineup, but none more important than Andersen, who kept the Leafs in the lead in the middle frame when Boston outshot the Leafs 15-3. The fourth line unit of Nick Shore, Gauthier and Timashov combined for the Swedish rookie’s first career NHL goal, while the third line continued their consistent production, with Alex Kerfoot cashing in on the rebound of a Jake Muzzin point shot.
“I think (Timashov’s) got four points.” Babcock said. “What I like about him is he's nasty. He hits everything that moves and he's heavy on the puck. He's on the forecheck all the time (and) he provides speed for (Shore) and Goat.”
Toronto was forced to mix their lines even further after Andreas Johnsson left the game in the second period after blocking a shot, giving more responsibilities to Timashov, Trevor Moore and Ilya Mikheyev. Babcock indicated after the game that x-rays on Johnsson were negative and that he may miss practice on Sunday, but that he is not expected to miss any time.
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On Hockey Night in Canada’s “Saturday Headlines” segment, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman indicated that changes in the Leafs roster may be on the horizon with the return of Travis Dermott and Zach Hyman. Both players are on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and cannot come off until October 26, but once they do GM Kyle Dubas will have to clear the club’s roster of as many as four players to make room.
Johnston zeroed in on Dmytro Timashov, Jason Spezza, Nic Petan and Nick Shore at forward, and Martin Marincin, Justin Holl and Kevin Gravel on defense as being among the group where the moves will likely come from.
Both Petan and Gravel have already cleared waivers, so there is no danger of them being claimed, but the others would have to go through waivers to be demoted. Friedman said that the Leafs have let it be known throughout the league that Petan is available to a team that would give him more of an opportunity, but that would still leave three more moves that would have to be made.
At forward, Hyman would resume his spot on the second line with Tavares and Marner, likely forcing Trevor Moore down to the fourth line. The odds of Timashov clearing are remote, which would mean a choice between Spezza and Shore.
On defense, Dermott is expected to play on the bottom pairing and can play both the left and right side. Holl has played well after finally being given a chance to play regularly, but will that be enough to overcome Babcock’s affinity for Marincin.
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Great effort against the B’s nets a win for the Buds. Norm and Mike discuss on the Sunday Spectacular.
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