Final, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins didn’t score on the power play, but no worries, as they take the 4-1 win in Game 1.
Third period, 16:35, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins will get another shot on the power play.
Colton Orr continued his night of mischief with a cross-check and a misconduct. Clarke MacArthur will serve the penalty.
Third period, 16:13, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins have looked as good as you could ask in Game 1, and they continue to come at the Maple Leafs, showing no quit.
Nathan Horton and David Krejci almost hooked up for a goal as they barreled in on a 2-on-1, but Krejci’s pass jumped over Horton’s stick on the attempt one-timer.
Third period, 11:55, Bruins 4-1: Things remain chippy, as we’ve already got some good hatred being cooked up here in Game 1.
James van Riemsdyk has been in the middle of that all night long, and he gets another post-whistle scrum going just now. Not surprisingly, that led to some pushing and shoving from a few Bruins. As everyone started to skate away from the net, Zdeno Chara gave Phil Kessel a cross-check for good measure.
Third period, 7:06, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins look to have pushed the lead to 5-1, but the goal was waved off.
James Reimer made an initial save, and Patrice Bergeron crashed the net to jam it home. However, the ruling was that the whistle had been blown before Bergeron scored.
Third period, 6:15, Bruins 4-1: The power play comes and goes with no success for the Bruins.
The B’s didn’t really have too much in the way of chances there, but it looks like they’ve kind of turned it on autopilot, at least offensively. They’re still hitting everything that moves.
Third period, 3:15, Bruins 4-1: Things are getting a little nasty here.
Johnny Boychuk just crushed Mikhail Grabovski with a clean hit in the corner. That didn’t go over well with Colton Orr. The Toronto enforcer hit Boychuk with a cross-check, which then led to Andrew Ference jumping in.
Orr gets the extra penalty for cross-checking and roughing, so the Bruins get the power play.
Third period, 1:11, Bruins 4-1: Leo Komarov is in the penalty box now, and it’s for a 10-minute misconduct. No added power play for the Bruins, though.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 4-1: The third period is underway, with 1:25 left on the Boston power play.
Second period reaction: What can you say at this point? The Bruins look like a totally different team than they did in the final two months, and the Maple Leafs are the ones suffering because of it.
Boston has shown a ton of jump, and they’re starting to enforce their will on the inexperienced Leafs. Toronto is certainly looking the part of the team that hasn’t been here before.
Just about every line is clicking for the Bruins right now. The Patrice Bergeron line and the Merlot Line have provided a ton of energy. The David Krejci line has combined for six points. The Chris Kelly line has been solid enough.
I’m a little bit surprised that the Maple Leafs didn’t make a goaltending change in the second period. James Reimer really looks like he’s fighting the puck right now, and after the fourth goal, you would think they might have made the change. Randy Carlyle decided to leave his starter in, as Ben Scrivens didn’t move a muscle at the end of the Toronto bench.
End second period, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins don’t get a goal in the first 35 seconds of the power play, but they’ll have 1:25 to cash in when the third period begins.
Second period, 19:24, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins look like they’ll end the period on a power play.
Clarke MacArthur just got called for hooking.
Second period: 15:44, Bruins 4-1: The rout is on.
Johnny Boychuk just blasted a shot from the right point that James Reimer had no chance to stop. The Bruins are in the driver’s seat in a big way right now.
Second period, 10:25, Bruins 3-1: If the Bruins play like this the entire series, the Maple Leafs have no chance.
The Bruins’ fourth line just turned in another terrific shift, with some incredible pressure in the Toronto end. That eventually gave way to the first line. As Mark Fraser tried to clear the puck, he just threw it to Andrew Ference at the Boston blue line. The B’s eventually got the puck back into the Toronto zone, where a loose puck bounced right to David Krejci, and the center beat James Reimer five-hole to extend the lead.
Second period, 6:01, Bruins 2-1: The Maple Leafs look to be upping the forecheck a bit, and that’s making the transitional game difficult for the Bruins. The B’s looked much better with their breakouts in the first period, but the Leafs are starting to make that a little more difficult.
Still liking what I’m seeing from the Patrice Bergeron line, though. Tyler Seguin just came galloping into the zone and put a shot toward net, but just missed over the crossbar.
Second period, 1:50, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins almost took the 3-1 lead when Tyler Seguin beat James Reimer with a wrist shot, but Seguin couldn’t beat the crossbar.
The play was reviewed after the goal light and horn went off, but the replays clearly showed that he hit iron.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The second period is underway with the B’s leading 2-1.
First period reaction: OK, so this is what the Bruins look like when they “flip the switch” or “turn the page” or whatever other cliche you want to use.
That was one of their best periods in a long time, as Boston came out looking like its hair was on fire. They responded about as well as you could have hoped after giving up the first goal on the power play, and other than that brief spurt, they really dominated the first. They spent much of the first period in the Toronto end, and they finally cashed in on some of those chances, as the Bruins outshot Toronto 15-7.
It was also good to see the power play come alive. Again, it was getting back to basic, simple things. Wade Redden did a nice job of carrying the puck into the attacking zone, he put the puck on net, and Nathan Horton was there in front to get traffic and tip the puck by James Reimer. The Toronto goalie, by the way, looked pretty shaky in the first period. He was flopping around toward the end of the period, and he lost his stick twice during the first. He was kind of just all over the place.
I also liked what I saw out of the Patrice Bergeron line. They need to get that line going, and if the first period was any indication, they should be on their way to doing that. They were all over the place, and Brad Marchand was particularly active (not to mention annoying) to help stir the pot.
All in all, a good first for the Bruins.
End first period, Bruins 2-1: That’s the end of what was a very exciting first period.
The Bruins, who dominated much of the period, take the lead into the dressing room.
First period, 19:48, Bruins 2-1: This place is rocking now, and that’s because the Bruins have the lead.
The B’s take the lead with a power-play goal, of all things, after Nathan Horton tipped home a Wade Redden shot from the point. What a couple of minutes for Redden.
First period, 17:55, 1-1: Now the Bruins get a chance to take the lead on the power play.
Dion Phaneuf just slashed Tyler Seguin, meaning Phaneuf goes to the box for two.
FIrst period, 16:20, 1-1: OK, so raise your hand if you saw Wade Redden scoring the Bruins’ first goal. Now put your hands down, liars.
The defenseman just blasted a shot from the left wing that James Reimer initially stopped but couldn’t control and it rolls over the goal line.
First period, 15:47, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins just got their best shift of the night, and more importantly, they got it out of the Patrice Bergeron line.
The B’s killed off the penalty, and then got a great shift from the Bergeron line, a trio that has been scuffling a bit toward the end of the season. They need to get going offensively if this team is going to have any success. While they didn’t score in that last rush, they put some pretty good pressure on the Leafs, but James Reimer turned away everything he saw before freezing the puck.
First period, 11:56, Maple Leafs 1-0: Toronto is going back on the power play.
This time, it’s Johnny Boychuk with the hooking penalty that gives the Maple Leafs another power play, the first of which they scored on.
First period, 11:09, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins are really starting to dominate this period in just about every area but the scoreboard.
The Boston fourth line just had one of the team’s best shifts of the night that resulted in a scoring chance for Daniel Paille right in the middle of the slot. The forward missed wide with the shot, though.
It also remains physical with pushing and shoving after just about every stoppage in play. The Leafs look to be going after Zdeno Chara a bit, perhaps trying to goad him into taking a dumb penalty.
The B’s are outshooting Toronto 9-4 so far.
First period, 6:37, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Maple Leafs are bringing the body in the early going. The Bruins will more than welcome that, and so will everyone watching.
It’s been a good pace thus far, and while the Bruins find themselves down, it’s not necessarily because they’re flat. But, they’ve shown nothing so far that makes it look like they’re going to start burying their chances any time soon. It is early, though.
First period, 4:43, Maple Leafs 1-0: The story is the same for the Bruins through one power play.
The B’s got a few shots on net, but they couldn’t do enough to bury them. Brad Marchand hit a post (and maybe the side of the net as well) as the power play expires.
First period, 2:36, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Bruins get a power play of their own, thanks to Mark Fraser.
The defenseman was just given a delay of game penalty.
First period, 1:54, Maple Leafs 1-0: Toronto strikes first.
The Bruins couldn’t clear the puck in front of the net, and Cody Franson took full advantage of it that, grabbing a loose puck and putting it in front to James van Riemsdyk. The UNH product knows what to do when he’s got the puck in front, and he scores a relatively easy goal to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
First period, 1:38, 0-0: The Maple Leafs get the early power play.
Patrice Bergeron was called for tripping, and the Boston penalty kill must go to work without one its best killers.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game, the series and the playoffs are underway.
6:58 p.m.: Nathan Horton is back and Kaspars Daugavins is in the lineup. That means Rich Peverley is the odd man out.
6:38 p.m.: The Bruins and Maple Leafs are in the midst of pregame warmups, and it looks like the Bruins’ lines will be the same as mentioned earlier.
Tuukka Rask and James Reimer will be the goaltenders, as we all expected.
That means Nathan Horton appears to be in the lineup back on his regular line, while Kaspars Daugavins will skate on the third line with Chris Kelly centering and Jaromir Jagr on the right wing.
The Leafs, however, look to have changed their lines up some from the projections earlier, which were going off of what they used at practice Tuesday.
The top two lines remain the same, but there are some differences on the third line. Here are the third and fourth lines, per the Leafs’ pregame skate.
Clarke MacArthur — Nazem Kadri — Leo Komarov
Frazer McLaren — Jay McClement — Colton Orr
That’s one tough fourth line.
6:20 p.m.: Welcome to TD Garden, where we’re just a little less than an hour away from getting weird.
Just got up to my seat on Level 9 at the Garden, and I must say, there is a ton of media here for this one. Given the way the Maple Leafs are covered in Toronto — akin to the coverage of the Yankees or Red Sox in their respective cities — that’s no surprise.
Pregame warmups are about 10 minutes away, so we’ll have a lineup update once that happens and we get a better idea of what’s shaking down on that front.
3:30 p.m.: So we’re a little less than four hours from getting underway at the Garden, and in the meantime, why don’t we dive into some supplemental reading? At the very least, it beats working, right?
Here’s my story on all of the storylines at play coming into this series between the Bruins and the Maple Leafs. There could be even more added to the list, really.
Oh, and here’s my other story on the Phil Kessel thing, which is still a thing mind you. My prediction for Kessel’s series? It’s not going to go very well, because when has it for Kessel against Zdeno Chara and the Bruins?
1:45 p.m.: Now, we move onto the Maple Leafs. Toronto had a limited morning skate, with very little revealed in terms of line combinations. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf didn’t even attend, nor did head coach Randy Carlyle.
However, center Tyler Bozak was on the ice, which is good news for the Maple Leafs. Even better news is the fact that Bozak declared himself ready to go, as he battles a shoulder injury. While Carlyle didn’t say for sure Bozak would be back in the lineup, the head coach confirmed that Bozak was feeling very good and was ready to go. So it sounds all but certain that he will be in there.
Operating under that assumption, here are some projected forward lines for the Maple Leafs.
James van Riemsdyk — Tyler Bozak — Phil Kessel
Joffrey Lupul — Mikhail Grabovski — Nikolai Kulemin
Clarke MacArthur — Nazem Kadri — Matt Frattin
Leo Komarov — Jay McClement — Colton Orr
1:10 p.m.: There’s plenty to dig in to from the morning skates, and we’ll start with the Bruins.
Nathan Horton, who returned to practice Monday after missing the last week of the season with an upper-body injury, was at morning skate, taking his rushes alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci. However, Claude Julien said that Horton will be a game-time decision for Game 1. It would certainly seem that Horton will be in there, though.
If he’s not, it’s likely that Rich Peverley would be inserted into the lineup. The veteran winger appears to have lost a spot to Kaspars Daugavins on the third line with Chris Kelly and Jaromir Jagr. In the case that Horton can’t go, though, Peverley got some work in at morning skate with the third line, so he’s ready to go as well.
In other lineup news, it’s unlikely that Dougie Hamilton will be in the lineup to make his Stanley Cup playoffs debut. The rookie defenseman has been a healthy scratch a lot as of late, and Julien said that will “probably” be the case again for Game 1. That’s not necessarily because the Bruins don’t trust him or want him in the lineup, but there’s also juggling that needs to be done in terms of shot handedness that begins with pairing Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg.
With all of that being said, here are the Bruins’ projected lines for Game 1, assuming Horton is good to go.
Forwards
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Nathan Horton
Tyler Seguin — Patrice Bergeron — Brad Marchand
Kaspars Daugavins — Chris Kelly — Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Dennis Seidenberg — Zdeno Chara
Andrew Ference — Johnny Boychuk
Wade Redden — Adam McQuaid
Oh, and Tuukka Rask is expected to get the start in goal. Shocker.
12:56 p.m.: While most folks in Boston don’t think the B’s need much bulletin board material, Leafs forward Nazem Kadri sure gave them some this morning.
Kadri told reporter Chris Johnston that his excitement for the matchup is “going through the roof,” and added that “this is a very, very winnable series.” –JB
8 a.m. ET: The Bruins were simply not good for the last month and a half of the regular season. Luckily for them, however, the regular season is over, and the slate is wiped clean once the playoffs begin. The playoffs begin for the B’s on Wednesday night in Boston.
The highly anticipated meeting between the two Original Six rivals is their first in the playoffs since 1974.
That’s just one of the many storylines between two teams who have had plenty of meetings on and off the ice over the last few years. Toronto coming to town, once again, brings Phil Kessel back to Boston, where he began his career. The 25-year-old forward had a fine season, but finding success in the postseason — especially against his former team, a team he’s struggled against — will be a huge thing to watch in this series.
As mentioned, though, the Bruins have issues of their own to worry about. The B’s ended the season on a 3-5-2 run over their final 10 games, with generating offense the glaring problem. Boston averaged just two goals per game over the final eight games, watching the Northeast Division title slip away in favor of the Montreal Canadiens.
The good news for the Bruins, perhaps, is that they are getting healthier. Nathan Horton may return to the lineup Wednesday night after missing the final five games of the season with an upper-body injury. Jaromir Jagr is expected to return to the lineup after missing the final two games of the season with flu-like symptoms. While Horton has been wildly inconsistent this season, getting those two back in the mix won’t hurt.
Puck drop for Game 1 from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.
