The Bruins finish the month 12-0-1 for their first month without a regulation loss since January, 1969. They also move into first place in the Northeast Division while improving to 3-0-0 against Toronto this season. They've won those three games by a combined 19-5.
The Bruins will look to retain the top spot in the division and beat Toronto yet again when the Leafs come to the Garden to complete the home-and-home series on Saturday.
Third Period, 19:08, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins ice this one as Brad Marchand scores the empty-netter in the final minute.
Third Period, 18:50, Bruins 5-3: The Leafs use their timeout here, after Krejci hit the side of the empty net and Lucic had a bid for the hat trick blocked in front.
Third Period, 17:58, Bruins 5-3: The Leafs have pulled Gustavsson facing a two-goal with 2:02 left.
Third Period, 15:21, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins add another huge goal as David Krejci continues his big night by setting up Milan Lucic.
Krejci set up shop behind the goal, came out on the right side of the net and feed a pass in front to Lucic for the tap in at the top of the crease.
Third Period, 13:02, Bruins 4-3: The Leafs continuing the pressure, with Kessel having a pair of golden chances denied by Thomas in the last few minutes.
Third Period, 10:24, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins have been on their heels a bit since that goal, with lots of pressure in the Boston zone. Thomas seems determined to make up for that rare soft goal he allowed though, as he's made a string of big saves since that.
Third Period, 6:00, Bruins 4-3: The Leafs are back within a goal as Matt Frattin bangs in a bad-angle shot off Thomas.
He scores from the left corner along the goal line to get the Leafs fans back involved in this one.
Third Period, 3:03, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins can't get much going on that power play, but Benoit Pouliot adds a huge insurance goal seconds after it expired.
Joe Corvo went in deep to the attacking zone and sent a backhand pass out from behind the net, which Pouliot collected in the right slot and fired home.
Third Period, 0:59, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins get an early power-play chance in the third as Jake Gardiner is sent to the box for tripping less than a minute in.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 3-2: The final frame is under way in Toronto, where the Bruins will look to close out this win and take over the division lead.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins are 20 minutes away from retaking the Northeast Division lead, as they head to the third period up 3-2. They can thank the suddenly resurgent top line for that.
David Krejci scored his first goal in 10 games and added an assist, while Milan Lucic had his first goal in nine games and Nathan Horton has a pair of assists. Zdeno Chara has the other goal, which put Boston ahead late in the second. He also has an assist, giving him 4-10-14 totals in November. That's the most points he's had in a single month in his entire NHL career. For good measure, Chara also has four shots, a hit and four blocked shots in 16:55.
The Bruins still hold just a 25-24 edge in shots after both sides had eight in the second. Boston now leads 16-14 in hits with Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid leading the way with three apiece. The Bruins are also dominating the draws again, going 24-16 on faceoffs (60 percent), with Rich Peverley perfect at 6-0.
Phil Kessel had no shots in the second and is now minus-1 on the night, but he did have an assist to set up Toronto's second goal.
End Second Period, Bruins 3-2: A better period for the Bruins, who score twice to take a one-goal lead into the third period.
Second Period, 18:12, Bruins 3-2: Horrible power play for the Bruins, who struggled to even gain the zone in that man advantage while the best scoring chance was a shorthanded bid by Toronto's David Steckel.
Second Period, 16:12, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins now go back on the power play as Clarke MacArthur is sent to the box for tripping.
Second Period, 15:30, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins get some delayed justice, as Zdeno Chara fires in a shot from the left circle to give Boston the leads once more.
David Krejci picks up another point as he sets up that chance with a crossing pass from the right wing.
Second Period, 15:06, 2-2: Tyler Bozak gets away with a late and dangerous hit, belting Johnny Boychuk after the whistle for icing, but no penalty is called.
Second Period, 13:30, 2-2: Another dangerous shift by Kessel and Co. as the Leafs threaten in front, but Chara and Thomas are able to clear the puck to safety.
Second Period, 11:10, 2-2: The Bruins top line almost strikes again as Krejci leads an odd-man break, then has a chance on a rebound of a Horton shot but fires wide from the right side as the puck slides off his stick.
Second Period, 7:00, 2-2: The Leafs do tie it up again as Joffrey Lupul scores on a 2-on-1 break down low.
Phil Kessel made the pass from the right side, and Lupul buried the chance from in close on the left side.
Second Period, 4:52, Bruins 2-1: The Leafs nearly tie it right back up, but Dion Phaneuf's blast from the top of the right circle clangs off the near post and stays out.
Second Period, 3:33, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins take their first lead of the game as David Krejci ends his goal drought.
Nathan Horton made the play with a drive down the left wing, deking around John-Michael Liles and taking the puck to the net. Krejci then cleaned up the rebound in front for the score.
Second Period, 0:32, 1-1: The Bruins couldn't convert during the final portion of that power play, and the sides are back at even strength.
Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: The middle frame is under way in Toronto, where the Bruins and Leafs are tied, but Boston does still have 32 seconds of power-play time to start the period.
First Intermission Notes: The first period was about as even as it gets. Not only are the Bruins and Leafs tied 1-1 after exchanging power-play goals, but the Bruins have just a slim 17-16 edge in shots countered by Toronto's 8-7 lead in hits.
Even in the faceoff department, where the Bruins have been dominant this year, Boston has just a 12-10 lead. that's thanks largely to Rich Peverley (3-0) and Gregory Campbell (3-1).
Phil Kessel has been quiet once again, with no points and two shots in 7:15, though one of those shots came on a clean breakaway that Tim Thomas stoned. Joe Colborne also had no points and no shots in his first period against his old club, but did have a takeaway and a blocked shot in 3:36.
End First Period, 1-1: The first 20 minutes are in the books and this one is a bit closer than the first two meetings between the clubs as they head to the first intermission deadlocked at 1-1.
First Period, 18:32, 1-1: the Bruins will go on the power play again as Leafs defenseman Keith Aulie is called for goalie interference after bowling over Thomas while driving the net.
First Period, 16:00, 1-1: Phil Kessel in alone on a clean breakaway, but Tim Thomas stones the NHL's leading scorer to keep the game tied.
First Period, 15:08, 1-1: The Bruins convert the last of penalties as Milan Lucic scores with a top-shelf wrister from low on the right side.
That came off a crossing pass by Seguin, with Zdeno Chara getting the second assist on a 5-on-4 goal just after the first Toronto penalty expired.
First Period, 13:47, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Leafs continue the parade to the penalty box with Carl Gunnarsson called for holding Brad Marchand in front. It will be a brief 4 on 3, then a two-man advantage for Boston when Seguin come sout of the box.
First Period, 13:04, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Leafs negate the rest of that penalty as Joffrey Lupul is called for boarding Gregory Campbell. It will be 4 on 4 for 1:07, then a brief power play for the Bruins.
First Period, 12:11, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins are shorthanded again for another high-sticking penalty, this time on Tyler Seguin. That came seconds after a huge collision between Adam McQuaid and Matt Frattin that sent both players flying to the ice just inside the Toronto blue line.
First Period, 10:40, Maple Leafs 1-0: Strong shift from the Bruins fourth line, with Daniel Paille firing in a shot off the boards and another scramble in front. Energy line trying to grab some momentum back for Boston after Toronto grabbed the early lead.
First Period, 7:29, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Leafs strike late in the power play as Mikhail Grabovski scores on a transition play.
Clarke MacArthur sent the pass out from the left boards to an onrushing Grabovski, who banged home a backhander from the right slot.
First Period, 6:00, 0-0: The Bruins get the first penalty of the night as Rich Peverley is called for high-sticking, putting the Leafs on the power play.
First Period, 4:48, 0-0: Dion Phaneuf levels Horton with a hit in the corner. No love lost between those two, who dropped the gloves several times last year. Phaneuf also nailed Chris Kelly with a huge hit late in the last game between the clubs, and Greg Campbell appeared to be chatting with him earlier in this one.
First Period, 1:07, 0-0: The Bruins with the first threat of the night as Nathan Horton has a bid at the right post on a rebound of a Milan Lucic shot off the end boards, but Gustavsson makes the save.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And the final game of what has been a historic month for the Bruins is under way in Toronto.
But the Bruins aren't just worried about making history by earning a point in every game in a month for the first time since January, 1969. They also have to be concerned with the present, as the winner of this matchup with possess first place in the Northeast Division at the end of the night.
7 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin up front, with Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Leafs counter with their second line as well, with Clarke MacArthur, Tim Connolly and Nikolai Kulemin up front, Dion Phaneuf and Keith Aulie on the blue line and Jonas Gustavsson in net.
6:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Jordan Caron and Steven Kampfer.
Injured center David Steckel and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, both game-time decisions, will both be back in the lineup for this one. Philippe Dupuis and Coltor Orr are the scratches up front, Cody Franson is the scratch on the blue line. Former Bruins prospect Joe Colborne stays in the lineup even with Steckel returning, and will get the chance to play against his former club for the first time.
6:45 p.m.: Based on warm-ups, the Bruins will be sticking with the same lineup again for this one. That means Jordan Caron and Steven kampfer would remain healthy scratches.
Here's the projected line combinations for this one:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Corvo
Ference-McQuaid
6:30 p.m.: No surprises when the teams took the ice for warm-ups in Toronto, where Tim Thomas and Jonas Gustavsson led the teams on the ice.
That will be the goaltending matchup in this one as expected.
6 p.m.: The Bruins and Leafs will meet for the third time this season in about an hour. Boston hopes this one goes as well as the first two, as the Bruins rolled to 6-2 and 7-0 victories in those first two meetings.
Tim Thomas is expected to get the start in goal. He posted a 24-save shutout in his last visit to Toronto and carries an eight-game win streak into this game.
The Bruins are 11-0-1 in November and have a chance to secure at least a point in every game in a month since January, 1969 if they can pull out another victory, or at least get the game into overtime.
8 a.m. ET: The Bruins will look to close out a near-perfect November by opening a huge home-and-home series against Toronto with a win on Wednesday.
Boston's last visit to the Air Canada Centre produced a 7-0 victory paced by Tyler Seguin's first NHL hat trick. That followed a 6-2 win over the Leafs at the Garden in October. But despite those dominating wins in the head-to-head matchups, the Bruins still trail Toronto by a point for the Northeast Division lead, though Boston does have two games in hand on the Leafs.
The Bruins' sluggish October is a fading memory as they've now gone 11-0-1 in November. After Detroit snapped their 10-game win streak in a shootout on Friday, the Bruins rallied from a 2-0 hole to beat Winnipeg on Saturday.
The Leafs, meanwhile, fell into a 2-5-1 skid started by the blowout loss to Boston on Nov. 5, but Toronto has gotten back on track of late and enters this one riding a three-game win streak.
Jonas Gustavsson has been a big part of that revival, going 4-0-0 with a 1.71 GAA in his last four starts as he has taken the reins as Toronto's No. 1 netminder with James Reimer still sidelined by concussion-like symptoms. But Gustavsson hasn't fared well against the Bruins this season, posting a 5.66 GAA and an .837 save percentage as he's allowed eight goals in just 85 minutes in two appearances. Ben Scrivens actually started the last meeting, but gave up five goals on 14 shots in 35 minutes before giving way to Gustavsson.
Former Bruin Phil Kessel leads the NHL with 16-15-31 totals in 24 games for the Leafs this season, but had no points and was a minus-2 in the first two games against Boston. In 14 games against his former club since being traded in 2009 for three draft picks used to select Seguin, Jared Knight and Dougie Hamilton, Kessel has just 2-4-6 totals and is a minus-9.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action.
