This past week could have been worse for the Boston Bruins, but it still wasn’t pretty.
The B’s dropped their third consecutive game Saturday night at TD Garden in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Boston secured three points this week with an overtime win Monday against the Florida Panthers and an OT loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. But the Bruins had to overcome a three-goal deficit just to earn the point against the Caps and they followed with back-to-back home losses against the Colorado Avalanche and Leafs.
With the win, Toronto improved to 11-10-5, while Boston dropped to 15-12-2.
Here’s how it all went down.
BETTER START
The Bruins once again didn’t score in the first period, but neither did the Maple Leafs. After back-to-back rough starts against the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche, the B’s largely dominated play over the first 20 minutes. Boston had 11 shots on goal, while Toronto only had two and committed the lone penalty in the frame.
BUSY SECOND PERIOD
The scoring drought ended in the second period, although it didn’t go in the Bruins’ favor.
Hockey phenom Auston Matthews put the Maple Leafs on the board first with his 12th goal of the season 1:44 into the frame.
Hereeee's Auston.
Matthews made it 1-0 Leafs with this goal. #TMLtalk https://t.co/AJE3KWPDJ0— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 11, 2016
Zach Hyman tipped a puck past B’s goalie Tuukka Rask to put Toronto up 2-0 15:14 into the frame.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/807762092828856321
But Boston didn’t enter the second intermission empty-handed. Brad Marchand picked up the puck behind the net after some sloppy play from the Maple Leafs in their defensive zone, and he capitalized in a big way with 1:21 remaining in the frame.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/807763496943439872
NO COMEBACK
The B’s had a stretch of sizeable comebacks earlier in the week, but that didn’t happen Saturday. In fact, the Leafs’ lead only increased in the third thanks to James van Riemsdyk’s goal and Connor Brown’s empty-netter.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will hit the road for two straight games against tough opponents. The first of those games will take place Monday against the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Wednesday.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
