Twelve minutes into the first, defenseman Mark Stuart staked the B's to an early advantage. Derek Morris then scored just 35 ticks into the second period and David Krejci lit the lamp on a filthy breakaway about 10 minutes later.
But Toronto came roaring back, scoring two goals in the first 4:09 of the third period to cut Boston's lead to a single goal. After a long period of back-and-forth play, though, the Bruins finally put the game away with a Mark Recchi power-play goal and a Recchi empty-netter.
Young Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made 32 saves to earn the victory, while Vesa Toskala made 29 in a losing effort for the Maple Leafs.
Bruins 5, Maple Leafs 2
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Dec. 10, 2009
Headliner: On Thursday night, David Krejci was precisely the player that the Bruins had hoped he would be when they signed him to a multiyear extension this summer. Krejci had a brilliant breakaway goal in the second period — speeding past two Toronto defensemen and “undressing” goalie Vesa Toskala with a beautiful deke to his forehand — that put the B's up 3-0 and added an assist on Mark Recchi's power-play tally late in the third.
But Krejci's influence went much deeper than that. Krejci played with an energy that had been missing from the Bruins' forward lines several weeks ago during their scoring struggles. He raced for pucks in the corner, wasn't afraid to mix it up with larger defenders along the boards and simply kept the heat on for nearly all of his 17-plus minutes on the ice.
Tuukka Rask also made 32 saves in improving to 9-2-0 on the season. In his last 10 starts, Rask is 8-1-1 and has only twice allowed more than two goals in a game.
Grinder: Defenseman Mark Stuart doesn't get on the scoresheet a whole lot. In fact, tonight's goal was the burly blue-liner's first point in 23 games. But his long-distance goal got the B's off to a solid start, and that wasn't even the highlight of his evening.
Stuart tangled twice with Toronto enforcer Jamal Mayers, as the duo first earned matching minors for roughing 2:07 into the second period. They then came out of the box, dropped the gloves for real and were handed their well-deserved matching five-minute majors for fighting. But the physicality wasn't Stuart's highlight either.
Prior to faceoff on Thursday, Stuart was presented with a Bruins flag by eight U.S. Army Rangers who were in attendance. From Feb. 2 to Sept. 11, 2009, the flag had been carried into battle during combat patrols supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The honor for Stuart came after he purchased $5,000 worth of tickets for military members and their families to the Bruins-Panthers game back on Nov. 12 as part of the team's "Military Appreciation Night."
It was nice to see the gritty defenseman step up Thursday on the ice, a month after stepping up off it.
Key Moment: Early in the third, behind Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, the Leafs had cut the Bruins' lead to a single goal and were repeatedly surging toward the Boston net. But after Leafs forward Jason Blake took a high-sticking penalty with 4:01 remaining, the Bruins were finally able to salt it away.
On the power play, the B's set up in the Leafs' end and fired several shots from in close on Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala, but Toskala was up to the task each time. Moments later, after a centering pass from Krejci to Mark Recchi near the goalmouth, Toskala made a fine first-time save. But Recchi whacked at the rebound and got it past Toskala to give Boston a more commanding 4-2 advantage with 2:37 remaining.
Recchi added an empty-netter with 12 seconds left to provide the B's with their final winning margin.
Weak Link: He played considerably better and looked far more comfortable than he did Saturday night in his first return to Boston since the September trade to Toronto, but Phil Kessel was still a relative non-factor for the Leafs in Thursday night's loss. Amid thundering boos from the TD Garden crowd each time he touched the puck, Kessel puckhandled solidly and set up some half-chances for the Leafs, but he totaled just two shots and three hits in nearly 19 minutes of ice time.
What's Next: Following their back-to-back games against the Leafs, the Bruins next travel to Long Island to face the Islanders on Saturday night.
The Isles (11-13-7) sit in last place in the Atlantic Division, though they're currently just three points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie and 2009 No. 1 overall pick John Tavares is leading the Islanders in scoring with 15 goals and 26 total points. Little-known left wing Matt Moulson is also having a breakout season with New York, having already set career highs with 14 goals and nine assists.
Dwayne Roloson is the Isles' main man in net, having gone a respectable 9-4-5 with a 2.78 goals-against average in 18 starts. Roloson's backup, Martin Biron, has struggled since coming over from the Flyers during the offseason, posting a 2-9-0 record in 13 starts with a 3.26 GAA.
