Final, Maple Leafs 4-3:Â The Bruins had a furious comeback attempt, but that fell short.
The Bruins had the puck in the Toronto end for much of the last minute and a half, but Toronto did a good job of keeping the puck away from the front of the net.
Third period, 18:45, Maple Leafs 4-3:Â The Boston net is empty.
Third period, 14:08, Maple Leafs 4-3:Â The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty with by far their best kill of the night. They were even able to get a couple of scoring chances.
The highlight of the kill, however, came when Johnny Boychuk absolutely unloaded on James van Riemsdyk with a huge hip check in the Boston zone.
Third period, 12:07, Maple Leafs 4-3:Â Tuukka Rask just had his save of the night, as he robbed Nazem Kadri on a one-time chance right in front on the end of a 2-on-1.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, though, Matt Bartkowski was called for hooking on the play.
Third period, 9:35, Maple Leafs 4-3:Â This game is far from over, and it’s now just a one-goal game.
Daniel Paille made the Maple Leafs pay for a sloppy play from Jake Gardiner. The Toronto defenseman tried to send the puck behind the net, but it was a pretty lazy effort. Paille chased down the puck and made a centering pass to Gregory Campbell who had snuck into the slot, and Campbell scored the goal.
Third period, 9:01, Maple Leafs 4-2:Â The Bruins’ power play just came to a quiet and scoreless end.
That unit has not looked pretty tonight.
Third period, 6:29, Maple Leafs 4-2:Â If the Bruins want to get back into this one, now would be an opportune time.
Carl Gunnarsson was just called for delay of game, and the B’s get a much-needed power play.
Third period, 6:15, Maple Leafs 4-2:Â The Bruins’ penalty kill did a nice job of keeping this game in reach during the last couple of minutes.
With Zdeno Chara in the penalty box, the Boston PK was able to kill the penalty and not really give the Leafs much of a chance. In fact, the Bruins were able to get some near-chances going the other way.
They need to build off any momentum that might have brought.
Third period, 4:00, Maple Leafs 4-2:Â The Bruins’ comeback attempt is not going so well.
Zdeno Chara was just called for interference, and the B’s will be down their best defenseman for two minutes. This should be interesting.
Third period, 1:00, Maple Leafs 4-2:Â The Bruins now have their work cut out for them.
James van Riemsdyk just ripped a shot by Tuukka Rask, which gives the UNH product his 18th goal of the year. Again, that’s probably a shot that Rask should stop.
Third period, 0:01, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â The third period is underway.
End second period, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â The second period just came to an end, and it was a pretty frustrating one for the Bruins who find themselves down a goal.
The first game back after a road trip is usually a struggle, and the Bruins are coming through on that cliche right now.
Second period, 15:30, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â It was not easy, but the Bruins were able to kill off the penalty.
The Maple Leafs had a couple of scoring chances after some sustained attacking zone time, but the Bruins did just enough to keep Toronto off the board.
Second period, 13:29, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â Toronto is going back on the power play, and its first two trips have been bad news for the Bruins.
Ryan Spooner is the guilty party, as he was just called for holding.
Second period, 10:35, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â That was not a great power play from the Bruins, not by a long shot.
The B’s have had to switch things up with the injury to Dougie Hamilton, and that has Zdeno Chara on the point for the second unit with Ryan Spooner on the first unit.
Second period, 8:07, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â The Bruins are going to get another chance on the power play.
Tim Gleason was just called for tripping Jarome Iginla, and the Bruins will look to tie the game up a man.
Second period, 7:09, Maple Leafs 3-2:Â The Maple Leafs, despite being badly outshot, have taken the lead.
Jake Gardiner just scored on a snap shot from the right faceoff circle. That’s Toronto’s second power-play goal of the game, and it’s one Tuukka Rask probably should have stopped.
Second period, 5:50, 2-2:Â Toronto is going back on the power play where it scored one of its two goals.
Adam McQuaid was the guilty party, as he’s going to have to serve two minutes for tripping.
Second period, 4:00, 2-2:Â The Bruins kept possession in the Toronto zone for just about the entire power play, but the B’s were not able to find the back of the net.
David Krejci came close on a chance from the left faceoff circle, but it looks as if Jonathan Bernier got a piece of the puck as it went whistling through the crease.
Second period, 1:37, 2-2:Â The Bruins are going to get their first power play of the evening.
James van Riemsdyk just tripped Brad Marchand, and the B’s get the man-advantage.
Second period, 0:01, 2-2:Â The second period is underway.
End first period, 2-2:Â The first period just came to a close with the game tied 2-2.
The Bruins had a chance to take the lead late in the period when Milan Lucic and David Krejci had a 2-on-1, but Krejci’s pass to Lucic was broken up and deflected over the net and to the end boards.
The Bruins outshot Toronto 15-7 in the first.
First period, 16:14, 2-2:Â The Bruins’ latest scoring chance came from Loui Eriksson. He got loose in the slot and tried to put it by Jonathan Bernier, but his shot went just wide.
That was in part because he was tripped up as he was shooting the puck, but nothing was called and play went on. That could have gone either way.
First period, 12:47, 2-2:Â Tyler Bozak has his second goal of the game, and we now have a tie game again.
Bozak just took a real nice pass from James van Riemsdyk through the slot and put it by Tuukka Rask. Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk appeared to forget about Bozak behind him, and the forward slid right in all alone. There wasn’t much Rask could do with that one.
First period, 11:57, Bruins 2-1:Â The Maple Leafs get the game’s first power play.
Carl Soderberg is going off for hooking.
First period, 10:48, Bruins 2-1:Â The Bruins are back on top, as the Maple Leafs’ seemingly everlasting struggles in their own zone continue.
The Bruins’ second line hemmed the Maple Leafs, which is where Patrice Bergeron won a puck battle behind the net. He stopped on a dime, turned and jammed the puck inside the post to beat Jonathan Bernier.
First period, 5:52, 1-1:Â The Maple Leafs have been outplayed for pretty much the entire game, yet they have found a way to tie things here in the opening minutes.
Carl Gunnarsson put a shot on goal from the point — the puck was this close to being offside — that Tuukka Rask made the original save on. However, Tyler Bozak was right there to put home the rebound.
First period, 3:38, Bruins 1-0:Â The Bruins were buzzing, and they’re on the board first.
Reilly Smith took a shot from the left faceoff dot that Jonathan Bernier stopped, but Brad Marchand was there to grab the rebound and quickly snap it by Bernier for the first goal of the game.
First period, 3:03, 0-0:Â It didn’t take Shawn Thornton long to get back to fighting in front of the home crowd.
He just dropped the gloves with Frazer McClaren in the Boston zone in a pretty good fight with a lot of big punches being thrown.
First period, 2:54, 0-0:Â The Bruins are off to a strong start, and they would be up if it weren’t for Jonathan Bernier.
The Toronto goalie robbed Jarome Iginla on a breakaway. Iginla was all alone, but he couldn’t beat the goalie who made a pad save in covering up the five-hole.
First period, 0:01, 0-0:Â The game is underway.
7:10 p.m.:Â The Bruins did a very nice job with the tribute to Sam Berns, the teenager from Foxboro who recently passed away after battling Progeria.
Also as part of the pregame ceremony, the club’s year-long celebration of the 90th season in franchise history continued by looking back at the 90s. P.J. Axelsson dropped the ceremonial first puck.
6:45 p.m.:Â The warmups are just wrapping up now, and it will be Tuukka Rask in net for the Bruins against Jonathan Bernier for the Maple Leafs.
Colton Orr is reportedly out of the Toronto lineup with the flu. Orr is a noted tough guy who leads the Leafs with 80 penalty minutes.
6 p.m.:Â Good evening and welcome into TD Garden where puck drop is still about an hour away. The weather is soggy and the commute in sucked, but it’s good to be back at the Garden after the Bruins’ road trip.
It’s time for our semi-nightly spin through the game notes, and this is what we’re cooking with tonight.
Zdeno Chara is playing in his 1,100th career game tonight. If for some reason he’s able to grab four points in the process, he’ll get 500 career points as well.
If the Bruins win this one, they’ll push their record against Toronto this season to 3-0-0. That would extend a streak of consecutive seasons without a sub-.500 record against Toronto that dates back to 2001-02 which they went 1-4-0-0 against their division rivals.
The Bruins have played 30 non-shootout games where they’ve allowed two or fewer goals; Boston is 28-2-0 in those games.
We talked about how the Leafs have had trouble winning regulation, but they’ve been able to pick up points via the shootout. They’re 8-4 in the shootout this season, which is quite the improvement from last season when they went 0-5 in the skills competition.
2:30 p.m.: It’s only been a little more than a week since the Bruins have played in front of their home crowd, but it probably felt like a lot longer than it actually was. The West Coast can do that to a team.
The B’s will be back on TD Garden ice on Tuesday night where they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the two Atlantic Division teams’ first meeting since Dec. 8. Much has changed since then, and that’s not necessarily good news for the Leafs. Counting that Dec. 8 loss to the Bruins, the Maple Leafs are just 6-9-2. Those aren’t exactly convincing wins, either. Toronto has won just twice in overtime since Nov. 19. Toronto was sixth in the conference on Dec. 8, but they come into this meeting as the No. 9 team in the East.
The Leafs do come into Boston on a winning note after beating the New Jersey Devils in (of course) a shootout on Sunday night. It’s the same old story for Randy Carlyle’s bunch right now, too. The Maple Leafs are among the league’s worst puck possession teams in the NHL. They were able to get by with that earlier in the season, but it would certainly appear that things are starting to even out just a tad.
Boston’s return home come after a rough road trip out on the West Coast. The B’s won just one of three games on that California swing, but the trip did end on a winning note. The Bruins returned to their style of play with a 1-0 win over the San Jose Sharks to end the trip on a winning note.
The B’s will be without Dougie Hamilton on Tuesday night, though. The second-year defenseman is out indefinitely with a mild concussion, Claude Julien announced Thursday morning. That means Kevan Miller will be back in the Boston lineup. He played Saturday night in San Jose after Johnny Boychuk returned to Boston to see the birth of his twin daughters, who were born early Monday morning.
Tuukka Rask is expected to be in net for the Bruins, and Jonathan Bernier is in line to get another start for the Maple Leafs.
Puck drop from the Garden is slated for 7 p.m.
