The Bruins still have earned points in three straight, and they'll return home for three in a row at the Garden, beginning Tuesday against Buffalo.
Shootout, Toronto 2-1: Ryder hits the post to end it, 2-1
Kessel scores as Thomas makes stop, but slides over line with puck, 2-1; Thomas smashes stick on post afterward, and review upholds goal call
Krejci denied in close trying to jam it in at right post, 1-1
Kulemin hits outside of net as Thomas cuts off the short-side angle, 1-1
Seguin answers for the Bruins, 1-1
Kadri opens the shootout for Toronto with a backhander under the crossbar, 1-0
End Overtime, 2-2: The Bruins survive that brief late power play, and this one will go to a shootout.
Overtime, 4:36, 2-2: Another huge penalty against the Bruins as Boychuk goes off for hooking in the final half minute of OT.
Overtime, 2:30, 2-2: Seguin has Boston's best chance yet in OT, but Giguere denies him on a shot in front.
Overtime, 1:29, 2-2: Thomas comes up with his best save of the night, diving across the crease to rob Beauchemin with a glove.
Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: The five-minute extra session is under way with the sides skating 4-on-4 to try to settle this without a shootout.
End regulation, 2-2: We will need overtime for this one after Toronto's last-minute rally to tie it.
Third Period, 19:17, 2-2: The Leafs find a way to tie it, as MacArthur's one-timer goes wide, but former Bruin Kris Versteeg chips in the rebound off the end boards from the left side to pull even on the power play with the goalie pulled as well.
The play began with Kessel winning the draw.
Third Period, 17:30, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will face a huge penalty kill here as one of their top penalty killers goes off with Bergeron called for holding.
Third Period, 15:34, Bruins 2-1: Thomas with another one for then highlight reels and he somehow stops a redirection in front.
Third Period, 13:42, Bruins 2-1: The Leafs come close to tying it as Tyler Bozak's wraparound hits the outside of the post, then Nazem Kadri sends in a backhander that hit Krejci's stick and pops up into Thomas' glove to keep it at 2-1.
Third Period, 12:40, Bruins 2-1: Lots of chances for the Bruins there, with a 3-on-1, then multiple opportunities out front. Not being able to get an insurance goal there could come back to haunt them.
Third Period, 11:12, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins come up empty again on the power play, as they cling to a one-goal lead with less than half a period to play.
Third Period, 10:11, Bruins 2-1: Lucic takes a hit from Luke Schenn after an off-sides call. He doesn't like and some shoving ensues, but no further penalties are called.
Third Period, 9:12, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will go on the power play as Brad Marchand draws another penalty, this time making a steal and forcing Mike Komisarek to trip him up.
Third Period, 7:20, Bruins 2-1: Thomas goes post to post to rob Kaberle again. then things get nasty with Chara and Horton both getting into it with Armstrong, but no penalties come from it as Armstrong gets away with some stickwork.
Third Period, 6:08, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins break the tie on a great effort by Greg Campbell.
Coming on during a line change, he saves the puck at the blue line, flips it up to seguin, then fires in a wrister from the slot after taking the return pass.
Third Period, 5:15, 1-1: The Bruins are back on their heels here, as Toronto hits the post again, this time with Tomas Kaberle clanging the iron from the high slot.
Third Period, 4:09, 1-1: Johnny Boychuk with the hit of the night as he runs over Beauchemin at the blue line.
Third Period, 0:12, 1-1: Kessel doesn't want to put in any extra work, and tries to avoid OT with an early bid that clangs off the post.
Third Period, 0:00, 1-1: The final period is under way in Toronto. But will it be the final period? This deadlocked game has the feel of one that might need more than 60 minutes to decide.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins can thank Tim Thomas once again for still being even in this game, as he's delivering another big effort.
After the Bruins started to put some pressure on Toronto in the second, the Leafs countered late in the second to finish with a 14-12 edge in shots (26-17 overall).
The Leafs also have a 20-17 advantage in hits in what has been a physical game. Those hits have contributed to plenty of turnovers, as the Bruins have been charged with 13 giveaways and Toronto with 15. Both teams have 19 takeaways so far.
Phil Kessel continues to be snake-bit against his old club, as he has no points despite four shots in 13:46. He's also 4-5 on faceoffs in his debut at center. Tyler Seguin still has just one shot in 7:48, while Marc Savard has two shots in 9:12.
End Second Period, 1-10: The Bruins and Leafs will go to the third tied at 1-1 after a scoreless second period.
It always wasn't scoreless though after some wide-open play in the final minute. Thomas was forced to make hug back-to-back stops on Kessel from the right wing, the Armstrong on the rebound. He then stopped a bid by Orr in the final seconds.
Second Period, 17:28, 1-1: The Bruins kill off the penalty, and actually had the best scoring chance as Wheeler was sent in alone on a breakaway from Beregeron, but couldn't put it home.
Second Period, 15:28, 1-1: The Bruins will have another big penalty kill here late in the second as Milan Lucic is sent off for hooking.
Second Period, 14:41, 1-1: The hitting has picked up in the second, with Luke Schenn delivering the latest with a big shot on Blake Wheeler to break up a rush.
Second Period, 11:31, 1-1: The Bruins with a strong bid there, as Mark Stuart joins the attack and Krejci finds him with a drop pass, but Giguere makes the pad save.
Second Period, 10:59, 1-1: The Bruins, outshot 12-5 in the first, have a 9-4 edge in the second. But it remains a 1-1 game as Giguere has played well outside of the Horton goal early in the first.
Second Period, 7:30, 1-1: Bruins doing a better job of creating pressure in this period, but still giving up too many odd-man breaks to Toronto.
Second Period, 3:30, 1-1: Not a good power play for the Bruins, who were unable to set up anything in the zone and the only legit scoring chance was for the Leafs on a short-handed break.
Second Period, 3:06, 1-1: Thomas comes up with another huge save, robbing Kulemin with a glove save on a short-handed bid.
Second Period, 1:30, 1-1: The Bruins will have a chance on the power play as Clarke MacArthur goes off for hooking.
Second Period, 1:00, 1-1: The Bruins are getting the pressure they wanted early, as Bergeron steals the puck from Kessel for a bid in close, then Horton has a chance from the slot.
Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: And the middle frame is under way in Toronto, with the Bruins looking for a little more sustained pressure then they were able to muster in the first.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins are 10-0-0 when scoring first this season, but they'll have to add at least one more goal to make it 11-0-0.
Boston struck first when Nathan Horton scored his first goal in 10 games, but Toronto rallied to tie it before the break. The Bruins have scored first in three straight games now after giving up the first goal in each of the previous five games.
The Leafs actually had the better of the play for much of that period, outshoting Boston 12-5. Phil Kessel had three of those shots, but still has not scored a goal in eight games against his old club. He was 2-4 on faceoffs in his first game at center.
Marc Savard played just 4:45 in the first with one shot, one hit and a 1-3 mark on faceoffs. Tyler Seguin had one shot in 5:04 in his first pro game in his hometown.
End First Period, 1-1: The Bruins jumped out to an early lead, which is usually all they need. But they'll have a little more work to do in this one as the Leafs came back to tie the game heading into the first intermission.
First Period, 18:53, 1-1: The Bruins come through will a big penalty kill as Campbell gets out of the box and the sides are even again.
First Period, 16:53, 1-1: More trouble for the Bruins, as Toronto goes on the power play with Campbell called for delay of game after clearing the puck over the glass.
First Period, 15:53, 1-1: The Bruins can't maintain their early lead, as Carl Gunnarsson pulls Toronto even.
Gunnarsson taps in a perfect pass from Tyler Bozak behind Thomas at the left post. Nazem Kadri also picks up an assist on the play.
First Period, 14:10, Bruins 1-0: Good shift from the Krejci line there to relieve some of the pressure on Thomas, as the Leafs have had plenty of opportunities early in this one.
First Period, 10:51, Bruins 1-0: A bomb from the right point by Francois Beauchemin stings Thomas, but he makes the save.
That comes after Milan Lucic makes a nice rush down the left wing for a bid on Giguere.
First Period, 8:40, Bruins 1-0: The gloves are off for the first time in this one, as Rosehill hits Greg Campbell into the boards and Shawn Thornton takes exception.
They go toe-to-toe with Thornton throwing rights and Rosehill lefts, and Thornton lands the better shots in the exchange. He follows up with some uppercuts before the linesmen step in to take the decision.
Rosehill gets an extra two for boarding and Thornton two for roughing in addition to the matching fighting majors, so the sides stay at even strength.
First Period, 4:48, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike for the all-important first goal as Nathan Horton takes advantage of a Leafs turnover in the Toronto zone and rips a wrister in from the high slot.
That's Horton's first goal in 10 games. The Bruins would love to see him get on another hot streak like he had at the start of the season.
First Period, 3:09, 0-0: The Leafs continue their early pressure with another 2-on-1 break that nearly results in a goal.
Versteeg has Kessel with him but takes the shot from the left wing. Thomas makes the save, then has Chara fall on him into the net after Armstrong comes flying in for the hit on Chara. the ref immediately waved off the goal and the video replay upheld the call.
First Period, 2:29, 0-0: It was Seguin's turn next, as he fires in a shot from the right wing, but Giguere makes the save as well.
First Period, 0:29, 0-0: That didn't take long, as Kessel creates the first chance of the night in close at the right post, but Thomas robs him with a point-blank save.
Still no goals for Kessel against his old club.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The first period is just about ready to get under way.
The Bruins will open with Patrice Bergeron between Blake Wheeler and Mark Recchi up front, Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Leafs will counter with new center Phil Kessel between Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg up front, Tomas Kaberle and Luke Schenn on the blue line and J-S Giguere in the net.
6:50 p.m.: No surprises with the scratches in this one.
Daniel Paille and Jordan Caron are out again for the Bruins, while Brett Lebda and John Mitchell are out for the Leafs.
That means tough guy Jay Rosehill, who was called up on Friday, will play. He had 33 fighting majors just two years ago in the AHL and had seven this year, in addition to five in the preseason. With him and Colton Orr on the fourth line, there could be some fireworks in this one.
6:40 p.m.: There's always plenty of excitement when Original Six rivals Boston and Toronto get together.
But for a couple of Bruins, this game against the Leafs will be especially emotional. Rookie Tyler Seguin plays his first game in his hometown as a pro, while Marc Savard gets to play his second game back back since recovering from post-concussion syndrome in front of his family as well.
Check out their thoughts on returning to Toronto for this game here.
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and J-S Giguere led their respective teams onto the ice for warm-ups, so that will be the goaltending matchup as expected.
5:30 p.m.: The Bruins make their first visit to Toronto on Saturday to take on a Toronto team that is once again in the basement of the Northeast Division.
The Leafs have lost four straight, managing just four goals in that span. the struggled go back further than that though, as Toronto has won just four of its last 20 games after a surprising 4-0-0 start that is now a distant memory.
To try to get something going, the Leafs have moved old friend Phil Kessel to center for this game, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere will make his first start in net since suffering a groin injury on Nov. 16. The Bruins are expected to counter with Tim Thomas, who has stopped 78 of the 79 shots he's faced in the last two games and also stopped all 20 shots he faced in the clubs' first meeting, a 2-0 Bruins win at the Garden on Oct. 28.
A full breakdown of the matchup can be found in our Facing Off feature.
8 a.m.: The Bruins have put together two strong outings with a 3-0 win in Philadelphia on Wednesday and an 8-1 rout of Tampa Bay on Thursday. Now they want to continue that roll against the Northeast Division rival Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday night.
The Bruins got a boost on Thursday with the return of Marc Savard, who played his first game of the season after recovering from post-concussion syndrome. Savard was greeted by a standing ovation from the Garden faithful, but could get a different welcome in Toronto. Still, the Ontario native is excited about playing in front of his family again.
Rookie Tyler Seguin is also eager to play his first NHL game in Toronto, where he'll also have plenty of family and friends on hand as well. But he and the rest of the Bruins will have to keep their emotions in check as they try to take advantage of a Toronto team that has lost four straight games and won just four of its last 20.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
