The Maple Leafs Never Trailed In Game 5, Stave Off Elimination With a White-Knuckle 4-3 Victory

Unlike the NBA playoffs where most teams pack it in when they are down two or three games, they say that the toughest thing to do in the NHL playoffs is to eliminate a team and while that old adage is somewhat flawed, it was definitely the case on Saturday night at TD Garden as Toronto beat Boston 4-3 to cut the Bruins' series lead to 3-2. Game 6 shifts back to the Air Canada Centre on Monday (7, NESN). When you look at the final stats, it's hard to believe that the B's lost: they outshot the Leafs 45-21 (including 20-5 in the 3rd) and had six power plays to one for Toronto.

Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (42 saves, 2nd win of the series) was the star for Toronto and he was also helped by the fact that his teammates gave him multiple two-goal leads (2-0 and 3-1) and even a three-goal advantage to play with (4-1). You couldn't help but think of the epic 2013 playoff series between these clubs as Boston cut it to 4-3 early in the third period on Noel Acciari's goal but it wasn't to be as the Leafs held on for the improbable win. After Tuukka Rask was so brilliant in Game 4 (31 saves), it was only befitting of the roller coaster nature of the postseason that the next time out he was nothing like that. He made nine saves and allowed four goals before being pulled although to be fair, you can't really fault him for any of those tallies. At that point, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was just looking for a way to spark his club and it helped as Anton Khudobin stopped all eight shots he faced in his NHL playoff debut. Before you can say goalie controversy, there is no doubt in the universe that Rask will start Game 6. Haha hopefully playing half of Game 5 will give him a little more energy.

The team that has scored the first goal has won every game of the series and that continued this evening as Connor Brown notched his first career NHL playoff goal at 6:36 of the first period. He batted the puck out of mid-air, assisted by Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. Before the Bruins knew what hit them, it was 2-0 Toronto as Andreas Johnsson also bagged his first career playoff goal, assisted by Nazem Kadri (who returned from being suspended for Games 2-4) and Jake Gardiner at 10:12. Boston had only trailed once after the first period in the series and that came in Game 3 (their only loss).

The B's had outshot Toronto 15-6 in the first period but things seem to break their way when Jake DeBrusk's shot went wide of the net but David Backes was there to tap it in for an easy power play goal at 9:45 of the second period. Backes' second goal of the series was also assisted by Torey Krug. The problem was that Toronto responded 51 seconds later with a tally from Tyler Bozak (his 2nd of the series), assisted by Morgan Rielly and James van Riemsdyk. It was a backbreaking goal for the B's after it looked like they had swung the momentum back in their favor. JVR roofed one past Rask at 11:55 of the second which ended Rask's night (he basically sprinted to Boston's dressing room after getting off the ice). Mitch Marner (who's been Toronto's best player all series) and Bozak had the helpers on what turned out to be a game-winning goal for the UNH product (JVR).

Sean Kuraly potted a one-timer off a nifty backhander feed from Matt Grzelcyk at 17:18 of the second period. Kuraly's second goal of the series was also assisted by Acciari. Toronto was their own worst enemy for much of this contest as they repeatedly got stupid penalties to put Boston's top ranked power play (in the postseason) back on the ice. In fact, they survived a two-man advantage for 1:34 that ended shortly before Kuraly's goal. Boston was down two goals headed into the third period but with 33 seconds remaining on yet another power play, they had more than a flicker of hope. Boston couldn't have dominated the third in every facet (except on the scoreboard) any more as they outshot Toronto 20-5. Andersen didn't exactly make every save look routine or easy but credit to him for getting the job done. Acciari's classic fourth-liner goal (his 1st of the series; assisted by Tim Schaller and Krug) at 5:58 cut it to 4-3 Leafs but that's how it would end.

Tampa Bay did their job earlier today by knocking out New Jersey (3-1 in Game 5) when they had the first opportunity to do so. That means that regardless of who wins this series, the Lightning are looking at a few days off in the Florida sun. That doesn't sound so bad, huh? You could say that Rask and the B's stole Game 4 in Toronto and despite all the big leads, I think you could also say the same for the Leafs in Game 5. It was in Boston's best interest to end things tonight so needless to say, they really want no part of a Game 7 even though it would be back in Boston on Wednesday. When you have a chance end a series, you have to go for it (see: Winnipeg last night vs. Minnesota).

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Behind Pastrnak's Transcendent Night (3 goals, 3 assists), B's Take a 2-0 Lead In the Series vs. Leafs

It can't possibly be this easy right? Through the first two games of what was expected to be a very tight, competitive series, the Bruins have looked like world-beaters while the Maple Leafs have been anything but ready for primetime. Similar to Game 1, tonight in Game 2 Boston won by four goals yet again (7-3) but this was a little spicier dish at TD Garden as David Pastrnak (3 goals, 3 assists) had the first six-point performance by a Bruin in the playoffs since Rick Middleton (2 goals, 4 assists) on April 18, 1983 vs. Buffalo. The B's took a 2-0 series lead as similar themes from Thursday continued: Boston's power play is unstoppable (2-for-4 tonight and 5-for-10 in the series) and the same can be said for their top line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron (4 assists) and Brad Marchand (4 assists) who have already combined for 20 (!) points.

Minus forward Nazem Kadri who was suspended three games for his gutless hit on Tommy Wingels in Game 1, you figured that Toronto would respond with a more solid performance. Haha not so much as the Bruins scored four goals in the first 15 minutes of the contest and they simply cruised from there. Pasta began his bonanza with a sweet spin-o-rama into a backhander for a 1-0 B's lead at 5:26. Torey Krug (3 assists) and Bergeron had the helpers on that highlight reel tally. Jake DeBrusk went hard to the net and was rewarded with his first career NHL playoff goal at 9:46, tipping in a zipped pass from Krug with Bergeron picking up the second assist. Before you could blink, it was 3-0 Bruins at 12:13 as Kevan Miller bagged his first career playoff goal by throwing the puck toward the net and watching it go in off of Nikita Zaitsev's skate. That was all she wrote for Frederik Andersen who faced five shots on goal and saw three of them go by him. Backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney (4 goals allowed, 23 saves) did not fare much better so I'm sure that Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will go back to Andersen to start the must-win Game 3 on Monday (7, NESN) at Air Canada Centre.

DeBrusk's goal was on the power play and Boston's man advantage cashed in again as Rick Nash deposited your garden variety rebound at 15:00 of the first. Nash's first career playoff goal as a Bruin was assisted by Pastrnak and Krug. Toronto actually outplayed Boston in the second period (outshooting them 16-14) and outscored them 2-1 but Tuukka Rask (30 saves) made enough quality stops to keep the B's safely in front. Mitch Marner got the Maple Leafs on the board at 1:22 of the second when he re-directed a pass from Zach Hyman for his first goal of the postseason. David Krejci restored that four-goal Boston lead a few minutes later as he tipped in a shot by Pastrnak for his second goal of the postseason with Marchand providing the second assist. Toronto played with an urgency that they lacked for the first four periods of the series and Tyler Bozak notched his first goal of the playoffs with a sneaky little one-timer from Connor Brown and Morgan Rielly at 9:02 of the second.

Things got a little loose in the third period as Maple Leafs left wing Leo Komarov left with an upper-body injury. Pastrnak completed his hat trick, sandwiched around a meaningless power play goal by James van Riemsdyk (his 1st goal of the series). Anybody seen Auston Matthews? The young Leafs superstar was -2 and so far, he has been held without a point in the first two games. Pasta's hat trick was the first by a Bruin in the playoffs since Krejci did the deed on May 8, 2013 vs. Toronto.

At some point, the real Maple Leafs are going to show up in this series. Maybe? All the pressure is on them now since Boston held serve at home with authority. Things could quickly change if Toronto can win Game 3 and climb back from this pit of misery. However, if the B's can find a way to pull out a victory on Monday, it feels like the Leafs will fold up shop and get ready for the off-season. We were all so scared of this team and thus far, they have been nothing but frauds. What happens in Game 3 should tell us plenty about the mental makeup of the Toronto since all Boston really needs is a split North of the border to return here with a chance to close things out in a Game 5 on Saturday.

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Bruins Return Home For 1 Night Only, Poop The Bed vs. Maple Leafs In a 4-3 Loss

The Bruins (29-15-2) had been gone for over a week for a 1-2 road trip in California and they came home to face the reeling Maple Leafs (23-20-5) at TD Garden. Naturally, Toronto rallied from two early deficits to win 4-3. Boston had beaten them 3-1 and 5-2 earlier this season with the finale set for April 3 in Toronto.

Every writer will mention it so let me be the millionth to talk about how crappy Boston's special teams were. The Bruins were 0-for-3 on the power play and allowed two goals on Toronto's five man advantages.

The first period harkened back to the glory days of the NHL-70s and 80s-when there was an abundance of goals and even a fight between Shawn Thornton and Frazer McLaren. It was Thornton's first brawl since he got back on Saturday in San Jose. Brad Marchand opened the barrage on Jonathan Bernier (38 saves) with a goal at 3:38 off a rebound. Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron assisted on Marchand's 11th of the season.

Tyler Bozak answered at 5:52 with a similar goal, off of Tuukka Rask's (22 saves) juicy rebound. Bozak was assisted by Milan Lucic's rag doll-Carl Gunnarssson and Phil Kessel (3 assists). Boston regained the lead at 10:48 after Bergeron's wraparound fooled Bernier and Toronto's defensemen. His 11th goal of the season was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Marchand.

Bozak potted his second goal at 12:47 of the first, this time on the power play to tie it at two. James van Riemsdyk and Kessel assisted on Bozak's goal which came after a cross ice feed left Rask out of position.

Little did we know that Toronto would rattle off two more goals before Boston responded (too late). Jake Gardiner's wrist shot on the power play made it 3-2 at 7:09. JVR got a lucky break a minute into the third when Johnny Boychuk sent him to the moon with a clean but filthy hit. He got hit so hard that one of the gloves flew into the crowd. He got the last laugh though as his routine wrist shot got by Rask a minute into the third period.

The Bruins' fourth line brought its typical energy and they were rewarded with a goal when Gregory Campbell roofed a backhander past Bernier at 9:35. Campbell had hit the post earlier on the same shift so the goal seemed like a gift from the hockey gods. It was his third goal of the season, assisted by Daniel Paille.

Boston outshot Toronto 41-26 for the game so they should have done more with all their scoring chances. They don't have much time to fix things as they visit Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and the Stars (21-18-7, 5th in Central Division) on Thursday (8:30, NESN).

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James Reimer Steals A Game For The Maple Leafs In The Playoffs, Wait What?

Everything lined up perfectly for the Bruins in Game 5. They were back at TD Garden, up 3-1 in the series on the Maple Leafs with a chance to send them home for good and move on, earning a much-needed break before the next grueling series. Obviously Boston enjoys a challenge since their 2-1 loss to Toronto threw a wrench into those plans. Game 6 is at Air Canada Centre on Sunday night (7:30 p.m., NESN).

The fact that the Maple Leafs came out fired up and playing desperate hockey was not a surprise, what else would you expect from a team down 3-1 in a series? Oh that's right, some gutless teams like the Canadiens mail it in when faced with adversity like that. Credit to Toronto though, they earned this victory and the fact that James Reimer (43 saves) was the main reason why couldn't be more shocking.

Boston came out slow in the first period, getting outshot 19-8 but Tuukka Rask (31 saves) stood on his head and allowed his teammates to catch up. The B's woke up in the second period but the Maple Leafs drew first blood as Tyler Bozak skated in a breakaway and tucked a backhander past Rask at 11:27. It was a shorthanded goal and Andrew Ference was the goat after turning it over to Bozak in Toronto's end.

One costly turnover wasn't enough so Nathan Horton gave it away in his own zone, leading to Clarke MacArthur's backhander for a goal at 1:58 of the third period. Two unassisted goals for the Maple Leafs but truthfully, Bruins were the ones with the helpers. Facing a 2-0 hole and another flight back to Toronto, the B's really turned it on in the third. It looked like Reimer might escape with a shutout, he still gave up plenty of rebounds but tonight the Bruins couldn't take advantage.

The momentum turned Boston's way when Zdeno Chara scored his first goal of the playoffs at 11:12. David Krejci (who has a point in every game; leading NHL with 11 points) found the captain for a wicked wrist shot. Dennis Seidenberg had the second assist for Boston. The crowd got loud for the rest of the game which was almost totally spent in Toronto's end. Johnny Boychuk hit the crossbar, Jaromir Jagr had a great chance and Boston even had a late power play after a delay of game by Bozak. Somehow Reimer and the Leafs stood tall, the B's even had two shots right in the final seconds but time ran out.

The Bruins won't be afraid of Air Canada Centre, they won Game 3 and Game 4 there. They just need to have the urgency and fire that they showed in the third period when the puck drops to start Game 6. The Leafs are a decent team but there is no reason this series should go seven games, Boston has to get the job done on Sunday or else they will piss away their hard-earned 3-1 lead with nothing to show for it.

UPDATE 5/12: Andrew Ference stayed in Boston with the flu so he's out for Game 6. Matt Bartkowski and Wade Redden are expected to be in there for the Bruins.

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