In Recent Years, Nothing Has Ever Come Easy For the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Has It?

Good luck trying to predict anything that will happen in this series, other than the fact that neither team has won two games in a row at least thus far. Coming off a crucial 6-4 road win in Toronto on Wednesday that evened the series at two games apiece, the Bruins once again mostly failed to show up (eerily similar to Game 1) on their home ice and consequently lost 2-1 to the Maple Leafs. Toronto now leads the first-round playoff series 3-2 and they have a chance to eliminate the B's on Easter Sunday afternoon (3, NBC) at Scotiabank Arena.

For most of Game 5, it felt like both clubs were scared to make a mistake but Boston got the first three power plays (1 in the first period and 2 in the second period) but weren't able to take advantage of any of them. It was scoreless through two periods and up until then, the best chance came late in the second for David Krejci who did everything right but saw his shot hit the corner of the post/crossbar and bounce away from the net. As you would expect, both goaltenders were sharp from start to finish. Tuukka Rask (25 saves) deserved a better fate but as he's been for most of this series, Frederik Andersen (28 saves) was just a little bit better.

Auston Matthews looked overmatched in this matchup last postseason but this time around, one of the NHL's bright young stars has started to play like it. He hammered in a one-timer from Jake Muzzin and Kasperi Kapanen at 11:33 of the third period. That was Matthews' fourth goal of the series and it extended his point-streak to three games (4 goals, 1 assist). Toronto left winger Zach Hyman bumped Rask before the shot happened so Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy understandably challenged it for goalie interference. After a long review, the NHL replay officials (ironically enough in Toronto) ruled that there wasn't "enough conclusive evidence to overturn it." That stung but not as much as the insurance tally by Kapanen 2:12 after that. It was the end product of a beautiful rush by Toronto with Andreas Johnsson (3-game point streak) and Morgan Rielly (3-game point streak) assisting on Kapanen's first goal of the series.

Boston finally found the back of the net but it was too late as David Krejci one-timed in a pass from David Pastrnak and Torey Krug with 43.4 seconds left in regulation. Krejci's second goal of the series came with Rask off for an extra skater. This being Toronto, they nearly pissed it away in epic fashion when Brad Marchand had a buzzer-beating shot but this is a new year and team so Andersen blocked it away as time expired.

For me, the most surprising aspect of this series so far is how great the Bruins were for most of the regular season at the Garden and you could very well argue that Game 1 and tonight were two of their worst performances all year in front of their home crowd (many of whom left when it was 2-0). As you would expect, the numbers for the B's heading into the must-win Game 6 are not pretty: they are 10-13 all-time in Game 6s when they trail a series 2-3 and 3-20 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail 2-3 (last series win in that situation was the 2011 Stanley Cup Final vs. Vancouver). Conversely, the Leafs are 19-5 all-time in best-of-seven series when they lead 3-2.

Will Toronto become the first one to win two straight contests or can Boston force another Game 7? The Celtics will be going for the sweep vs. the Pacers (1, ABC) as well on Sunday but let's be serious, Bruins-Leafs Game 6 is the real main course. If you celebrate it, I hope that the Easter bunny brings you whatever helps to calm your nerves in tense situations like this (candy, booze, drugs, etc.). As usual in the NHL playoffs, home ice hasn't meant much especially for these two Original Six clubs who are so close in terms of talent and performance-levels. It doesn't matter how, the B's just have to find a way to steal Game 6 in Toronto and bring it back here for another Game 7 which would be on Tuesday.

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Is This The Start of the Inevitable Collapse for the B's While They Are Missing So Many Good Players?

Every team in professional sports has injuries so using those as an excuse too often falls on deaf ears. However, right now the fact remains for the Bruins (6-6-4) that when they are missing David Krejci, David Backes, Adam McQuaid and Ryan Spooner, they are forced to rely way too much on guys that should be getting seasoning in Providence rather than facing the daily rigors of the NHL. Boston began the week with a misleading 5-3 win vs. Minnesota on Monday but since then they've dropped three in a row. Tonight at TD Garden, they fell 4-1 to the Maple Leafs (12-7-0) after Toronto stunned them with a 2-1 overtime win last night at Air Canada Centre.

With budding superstar (and American hero) Auston Matthews out for both meetings with an injury and facing the immortal Curtis McElhinney (38 saves) in net this evening for the Leafs, this was a game that the Bruins had to have and despite outshooting Toronto 39-25, they lacked any sort of finishing ability. Tuukka Rask (21 saves) fell to 3-6-2 as yet again he was not able to play like a true No. 1 goaltender that can carry his team or teammates when they are down. I still think that Rask can be a very good goalie but it doesn't help when Brandon Carlo turns the puck over right to Mitch Marner at 8:52 for an easy goal, his 2nd of the season.

James van Riemsdyk enjoyed his time against the B's since he had a pair of goals on Friday and he made it 2-0 tonight with a power-play goal at 14:16 of the first period. He tipped in Nazem Kadri's shot for his ninth goal of the season with Morgan Rielly picking up the second assist. The Black and Gold world might be collapsing (sorry for the stupid hyperbole) around them but at least Frank Vatrano has somewhat remembered how to do his one skill that got him here: score goals. He tipped in a shot from Torey Krug (7-game point streak) and Kevan Miller at 15:18 of the first for his second goal of the campaign.

Toronto led 2-1 after the first and Matt Martin laid a massive hit on rookie Anders Bjork early in the second frame at center ice. Both guys were shaken up but they each remained in the game, because hockey. Matt Beleskey might be nothing more than a fourth line plug these days but at least he stands up for his teammates: he fought Martin a few minutes later since who else would in this Swiss cheese lineup? With the Leafs up 2-1 after 40 minutes, Boston needed to conjure up something notable to avoid grabbing only one point out of a possible four this weekend against their Atlantic Division foe. Instead, their power play was blanked on four occasions overall and the Leafs put it out of reach with Rielly's goal at 6:52 that of course deflected off Carlo's stick. JVR and Marner picked up their second points on Rielly's third goal of the season.

To say that goal was deflating would be an understatement since right before it, Boston had a two-man advantage for 1:07 that they shamelessly flushed down the toilet. Head coach Bruce Cassidy used his timeout right after the second penalty was whistled but there would be no proper response by his club. Grandpa Marleau broke Boston's hearts with the overtime tally and he put this slopfest to bed with an empty-net goal with 1:47 left in regulation. His eighth goal of the season was assisted by Zach Hyman (fun name!) and Leo Komarov.

Dating back to last season, Toronto improved to 6-0 vs. Boston meaning that the B's have two more chances left to avoid another ugly fate: a season sweep at the hands of one of their sneaky biggest rivals these days. Hey no worries though, the Bruins won't return to the Garden until Black Friday (1, NESN) when they host the Penguins (9-7-2) in their annual day after Thanksgiving matinee. Between Now and Then (cheesy 90s movie reference, just call me Bill Simmons) they leave on the dreaded California trip and then they go to New Jersey (10-4-2)-the Eastern Conference's biggest surprise-the night before Thanksgiving (7, NESN).

Did I mention that the B's are 1-3-2 on the road thus far? Anaheim (7-6-3) on Wednesday is probably their best chance at a win on the road trip since the Ducks are super banged up just like them. At LA (11-3-2) the next night (10:30, NESN) is no picnic since the Kings are one of the NHL's best at the moment (who could forget their last second 2-1 overtime win here back on Oct. 28?) and finally, the Sharks (8-6-0) on Saturday night (10:30, NESN) will be looking for revenge after they lost here 2-1 on October 26.

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Bruins Outlast Maple Leafs 2-1 in a Shootout for Their Fifth Straight Victory

The Bruins closed out their final regular season game of 2014-15 at TD Garden with a frustrating but ultimately rewarding 2-1 shootout win over the Maple Leafs. Boston (41-25-13) set a season-high for shots on goal (50) but couldn't find a way to beat a mediocre goaltender like James Reimer (49 saves). Haha you might remember him from Game 7 of the Eastern Conference opening round series in 2013. Luckily, Toronto (29-43-7) is so bad (and tanking so hard) that the B's found a way to win a shootout (improving their record to a pathetic 4-9 this season).

After handing out their traditional year-end awards before the game, Boston came out hard in the first period and outshot Toronto 19-6. They couldn't find the back of the net but Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the second. Reimer left a rare rebound on Brad Marchand's shot and Bergy was there for his 22nd goal of the season (tying Marchand for the team lead). David Krejci had the second assist on Boston's lone tally.

UNH product James van Riemsdyk, who seems to always kill the Bruins, tied it at 14:31 in the second period. A shot from the point deflected off Tuukka Rask (27 saves) and JVR was on the doorstep to poke it over the line. That was his team-leading 26th goal of the season and it was assisted by Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner.

Neither power-play couldn't generate anything: Boston's was 0-for-3 and Toronto's was 0-for-2. The Bruins had another dominant frame in the third (outshooting the Leafs 16-8) but they had nothing to show for it. Each team had three shots on goal in overtime which is typically when Boston plays well (9-4 this season; Toronto is 3-3).

In the shootout, Tyler Bozak and Krejci were stopped in the first round. Rask made the save on JVR to start the second round and Bergeron potted the only goal. Nazem Kadri was Toronto's final shooter and he couldn't find a way to get the puck past Rask.

At the moment, Boston is still in eighth-place in the Eastern Conference but they have 95 points-the same as the Penguins and Red Wings. The difference is that those clubs have a game in hand on the Bruins. Ottawa won 4-3 in overtime tonight vs. Washington (43-25-11) to remain three points back of the Bruins. By the time that the B's take the ice again on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) in DC, things will look much different since the Senators are in Toronto tomorrow night and then host Pittsburgh on Tuesday. To give you even more of an ice cream headache, the Bruins are only three points behind the Islanders and two behind the Capitals.

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