Do The Maple Leafs Know What They're Getting Into? Game 1 Tells Me That They Don't

Remember when we were very worried about the Bruins the last few weeks? All our troubles seemed to float away tonight at TD Garden in Game 1 as Boston stomped Toronto 4-1 and the final score doesn't even do it justice. The Bruins outshot the Maple Leafs 40-20 and completely dominated for about the last 58 minutes.

UNH product James van Riemsdyk actually gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead at 1:58 with a power-play tap-in after Tuukka Rask (19 saves) got stuck out of position at the side of the net. That prompted the B's to call on one of their best and most consistent players-Wade Redden-for the next two goals. Wait what? Haha that's right, the same scrub that was playing in the AHL earlier this season that they picked up off the scrap heap scored the tying goal at 16:20 and assisted on what turned out to be the deciding marker by Nathan Horton with 12 seconds left in the frame.

James Reimer (36 saves) looked shaky from the start and Redden's goal, assisted by Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, trickled by him. Playing in his first playoff game since he got hurt in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Horton tipped in Redden's shot from the point. David Krejci had the second assist.

Toronto tried to play physical but that was silly since they're not going to beat Boston at their own game, especially on their home ice no less. Krejci scored on a turnaround shot from the slot at 10:25 in the second period (from Milan Lucic) and Johnny Boychuk rounded out the scoring with a patented Johnny Rocket (copyright Jack Edwards) at 15:44 from Lucic and Krejci.

Things got more chippy in the third period as good old Leo Komarov was called for a 10-minute misconduct then goon Colton Orr (a former Bruin) was called for the same in garbage time. Chris Kelly and Komarov squared off after the final whistle, what better way to celebrate a Bruins ass kicking?

You have to think that Toronto can't play any worse on Saturday (7 p.m., NESN) in Game 2. They hadn't appeared in the postseason for nine years so perhaps this humbling experience got their feet wet in that regard. Whatever the case, the Bruins need to come out with the same intensity to pick up another vital win.

UPDATE 5/2: Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference was suspended for Game 2 after he elbowed Mikhail Grabovski in Game 1. Expect rookie Dougie Hamilton to get back on the ice (after being a healthy scratch) to take his place on Saturday night.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Bruins Are Really On A Roll Headed Into The Postseason, Oh Wait......

What the hell is wrong with the Bruins? The Northeast Division title and No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference have been laid out on a silver platter (as opposed to a silver Cup) but they can't seem to get out of their own way. Tonight, Boston (27-13-5) played maybe its worst game of the season in a wretched 5-2 loss to Philadelphia (21-22-3) at Wells Fargo Center.

Other than Nathan Horton, who hasn't been anything above average this season, the B's don't have any major injuries to use as an excuse so what is it that's caused them to go 1-4-1 in their last six games? Lack of goal-scoring certainly has hurt them but this loss was all about an endless array of turnovers by the Bruins.

The only good news is that the Canadiens are playing even worse. They lost 3-2 at New Jersey tonight so Boston is still in control with one more game left than Montreal but the same amount of points (59).

Scott Hartnell gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 1:40 of the first period, that's how long it took the Bruins to make a fatal mistake. The Wade Redden tied it with his first goal as a Bruin at 4:54 with assists to Jaromir Jagr and Carl Soderberg. Redden was rewarded after his net drive following Steve Mason's (39 saves) juicy rebound, his followup was in the air and crossed the line before Philly could clear it.

For all intents and purpoes, Philadelphia clinched this with a pair of goals seven seconds apart in the second period. Yes, seven seconds. First Matt Read batted a rebound out of mid-air then Zdeno Chara had the hockey equivalent of an own goal (soccer) when he banked an awful pass attempt off Anton Khudobin's skates into the net.

Jakub Voracek made it 4-1 early in the third period but David Krejci cut it to 4-2 with a nifty move for his 10th goal of the season. One more time, the B's were caught with their hockey pants down only 13 seconds later as Redden's turnover gift-wrapped a goal to Simon Gagne.

It might be time to sit Chara for a game or two, the big guy is clearly exhausted (rightfully so) and not himself. If the Bruins are going to play this bad with him in the lineup then what's the difference? They return to TD Garden on Thursday (7:30 p.m., NESN) to host the Lightning (17-24-4). Tampa Bay isn't going to the playoffs so you'd think that they would be a pushover however Philadelphia is going nowhere but they rolled over the B's.

There is no secret formula but with the playoffs starting a week from tomorrow, Boston needs to wake up before they head to another first-round exit like last season against Washington.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate