Final, Maple Leafs 4-3: The questionable call against Torey Krug comes back to cost the Bruins.
Nazem Kadri scores the game-winner after he collected the rebound after a Cody Franson shot from the left point. The Maple Leafs cling to life.
Overtime, 1:52, 3-3: The Bruins are going to have to kill off a real bad penalty call. Torey Krug was called for holding, supposedly, and he heads to the penalty box.
Overtime, 1:00, 3-3: The Maple Leafs have killed off the Boston power play.
Overtime, 0:01, 3-3: Overtime is underway.
End third period, 3-3: The Bruins weren’t able to convert on the late power play, and they’ll have to try and win this one in overtime.
Third period, 18:46, 3-3: The Bruins are going to get a power play in the final moments.
Milan Lucic just made a beastly effort to get the puck into the Toronto zone where Nikolai Kulemin held him.
Third period, 18:15, 3-3: The Leafs are taking their timeout after Toronto ices the puck. Dougie Hamilton is getting some work done on the bench, as he has a nasty-looking gash after taking a stick to the face. No penalty, though.
Third period, 17:00, 3-3: For the first time all period, the Maple Leafs just had some sustained offensive zone time. The Bruins did a good job of keeping Toronto on the outside , though, and nothing comes of it.
Third period, 12:51, 3-3: It’s a tie hockey game.
Patrice Bergeron continues his red-hot streak, as he hammers home a one-timer in the slot after a fantastic play from Brad Marchand who won a puck battle behind the Toronto net before getting the puck to Bergeron.
Third period, 10:22, Maple Leafs 3-2: The Maple Leafs have killed off the penalty to Paul Ranger, but the Bruins got some chances. They’re showing no let-up right now.
Third period, 8:22, Maple Leafs 3-2: The Bruins are getting a power play. Paul Ranger just shoved Patrice Bergeron into Jonathan Bernier, and Ranger gets the penalty. It’s extra costly, as Bernier was injured on the play. So much, in fact, that he’s leaving the game, and James Reimer is coming in.
Third period, 5:03, Maple Leafs 3-2: The Bruins have finally broken through.
Milan Lucic just hammered a one-timer from the high slot by Jonathan Bernier after an incredible play from David Krejci who carried the puck around the net before getting it to Lucic.
Third period, 2:37, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Bruins have been absolutely dominant right now to begin the third period. The puck has been in the Toronto zone for just about the entire period so far.
Third period, 0:01, Maple Leafs 3-1: The third period is underway.
End second period, Maple Leafs 3-1: A frustrating second period for the Bruins just came to an end, and they’ll be chasing a pair of goals when the third period starts.
Second period, 17:00, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Leafs actually now lead in shots on goal, which is a rarity this season for Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are struggling to get things going offensively. They’re getting shot attempts (34), but they aren’t putting them on net.
Second period, 13:13, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Bruins have killed off the Kevan Miller penalty.
Second period, 11:13, Maple Leafs 3-1: Milan Lucic is trying to jump-start his club with his fists. He and David Clarkson just got tied up and they ended up throwing down in the neutral zone.
Kevan MIller ended up getting a penalty on the same play, though, as he was called for tripping.
Second period, 9:30, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Bruins just had some terrific transition that led to a 2-on-1 for Reilly Smith and Jordan Caron with Smith carrying the puck into the zone. He had an open shooting lane, but he ended up giving up that shot, and his pass was broken up. You wonder that if he wasn’t in such a goal-scoring funk that he might shoot instead of pass.
Second period, 6:19, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Bruins haven’t been able to break through, but they’re getting their chances. Milan Lucic just had a farily open one-timer in front, but he sent the shot wide of the net.
Second period, 0:52, Maple Leafs 3-1: The Bruins are having some real issues with the puck, and they now trail by two.
Dougie Hamilton coughed the puck up behind the Boston net, as Phil Kessel intercepted Hamilton’s attempted pass behind his own net. Kessel then passed to James van Riemsdyk all alone in front, and he buried the chance.
Second period, 0:01, Maple Leafs 2-1: The second period is underway in Toronto.
End first period, Maple Leafs 2-1: The first period is over, a pair of fluky goals have the Leafs up by a goal.
First period, 19:48, Maple Leafs 2-1: The Bruins’ struggles in the final moments of a period continue. Tyler Bozak is going to be credited with the goal after he drove the net, and the puck deflected off of him and by Chad Johnson. Phil Kessel just kind of flipped the puck toward the net and it went by Johnson off of Bozak.
First period, 18:13, 1-1: Gregory Campbell hammered a slap shot from the high slot that Jonathan Bernier stopped. Shawn Thornton just barely missed getting a stick on the rebound as he came flying down the right wing.
First period, 14:30, 1-1: David Krejci waited, and waited and waited. And may have waited a second too long.
Krejci had the puck in front with Jonathan Bernier at his mercy, but the Bruins center may have waited just a little too long to get off the shot. He ended up hitting the side of the net with a somewhat open goal to hit.
First period, 11:00, 1-1: The Bruins have killed off the penalty, in large part due to a great save by Chad Johnson on Phil Kessel.
First period, 8:48, 1-1: The Maple Leafs are getting a power play somehow.
Milan Lucic was sent off for roughing after shoving Troy Bodie following a play.
First period, 6:56, 1-1: Just like that, the Bruins have tied the game. The Maple Leafs turned the puck over at their own blue line, and Brad Marchand took full advantage. He ripped a snap shot over the right shoulder of Jonathan Bernier.
First period, 6:00, Maple Leafs 1-0: The Maple Leafs have found just what they were looking for.
Paul Ranger just scored the game’s first goal when he jumped into the slot and backhanded a loose puck by Chad Johnson for the game’s first goal. The puck got caught in Matt Bartkowski’s skates. He couldn’t find it fast enough as Ranger scored.
First period, 1:20, 0-0: Kevan Miller had a fantastic chance as Kevan Miller took a pass from David Krejci and quickly put it at the net. Miller’s shot hit the post, though, and bounced out of danger for the Leafs.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway.
7:17 p.m.: Joffrey Lupul is out. He has a lower body injury, according to the Maple Leafs.
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7:10 p.m.: The Maple Leafs will apparently be without Joffrey Lupul in this one. He’s not on the ice for pregame warmups. Here’s what the Leafs’ lines look like without him.
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6:40 p.m.: The Bruins will indeed have Jarome Iginla back in the lineup against the Maple Leafs. Iginla’s lower-body injury obviously wasn’t a huge deal, and he’ll be back in the fold for the B’s. He’ll replace Carl Sodeberg who has gone back to Boston to be with his wife, as they’re about to welcome a Baby Soderberg into the world. Jordan Caron will remain in the lineup. He’ll play on the left wing on the Bruins’ third line, and Chris Kelly will move back to center.
Backup goalie Chad Johnson will be in net for the Bruins.
6 p.m.: Brad Marchand might have tipped the Bruins’ hand about Jarome Iginla. According to reporters in Toronto, Marchand said that he expects Iginla to play on Thursday night against the Maple Leafs.
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5:23 p.m.: The Bruins have arrived at the Air Canada Centre, and unsurprisingly, Jarome Iginla is with the club. Iginla didn’t play Wednesday with what is being called a lower-body injury.
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Bruins president Cam Neely said during his weekly radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub that Iginla’s injury isn’t serious at all and that the winger isn’t dealing with much at all. That’s obviously some pretty good news for the B’s and their fans.
11:30 a.m.: The Bruins, as you might have expected, will not have a morning skate after playing Wednesday night. The Leafs did have a skate and spoke after. Here’s a little bit of what they had to say, via some Chris Johnston.
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Nazem Kadri really hits the nail on the head there with one of the most obvious statements of the entire season. The Leafs certainly need these points more than the Bruins. Toronto enters the day just one point out of the Eastern Conference playoff field. However, they have played two more games than eighth-place Columbus, so there is plenty of work to do for the Leafs.
The Bruins do have something to gain, though. The B’s can wrap up the top spot in the Eastern Conference if they’re able to beat the Maple Leafs in regulation or overtime and if the Penguins lose in any fashion Winnipeg on Thursday night. If the Bruins are able to get at least a point, they could clinch the top record in the East if the Pens lose in regulation as well.
One more quick morning note: Thursday’s game can be seen on NESNplus. You can find your local listings for NESNplus by clicking here.
11 a.m.: It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but Jonathan Bernier is expected to get the start in net for the Maple Leafs.
Bernier hasn’t been great against the Bruins this year. He’s made two starts agains the B’s and has a 1-1 record, but he’s allowed seven goals in those two games. The goaltender did pick up the win in his last start against Boston as he was able to stop 38 of the 41 shots he faced on Jan. 14.
Bernier has allowed 14 goals in three career starts against the Bruins with just an .872 save percentage and 4.76 goals against average.
8 a.m.: The Bruins did something on Wednesday night that they hadn’t done in almost three months: they lost a road game in regulation.
The B’s saw all kinds of streaks snapped when they lost 3-2 to the Detroit Red Wings. The regulation loss was the Bruins’ first since March 1, and the regulation loss was the first since Jan. 9. They’ll look to start new streaks on Thursday night as they head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs.
The B’s are certainly getting the Leafs at the right time. Toronto finally snapped an eight-game winning streak earlier in the week, but they’re still 2-8-0 in their last 10 games. That slide has the Maple Leafs on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, a predicament that wasn’t helped at all by the Bruins’ loss to Detroit. The Leafs woke up Thursday just a point out of the playoff picture, but they’ve played two more games than eighth-place Columbus and now trail Detroit by four points with the Red Wings owning a game in hand. So to say every game for the rest of the regular season is important for Toronto would be a grave understatement, especially when you consider the hockey culture in the greater Toronto area.
Boston, however, has its playoff position all but locked up. The Bruins have a nine-point lead on Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference’s top spot, and both teams have six games to play. Claude Julien has apparently decided to go into rest mode. Jarome Iginla was scratched Wednesday night in Detroit, and it’s unknown whether he’ll be back in the lineup against the Leafs. Julien said after Wednesday’s game that Iginla’s injury wasn’t major, which means it could have just been a front for rest. If Iginla is back in the lineup against the Leafs, that doesn’t mean someone else won’t get a breather in Toronto.
It will also be interesting to see what Julien does on the blue line. Matt Bartkowski was a healthy scratch against Detroit, but Andrej Meszaros had arguably his worst game since being acquired by the Bruins at the trade deadline. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Julien make a chance. The most logical move would be to put Bartkowski back in and sit Meszaros, as both Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton had nice games in Detroit.
Puck drop from Toronto is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
