The Boston Bruins couldn’t get back in the win column Saturday night, as they lost a hard-fought 6-5 battle to the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden.
The B’s got on the board first before surrendering four straight goals to fall behind 4-1. Boston didn’t quit, however, as they stormed back to tie the game at four, and then again at five, before allowing a goal with under two minutes remaining.
David Pastrnak scored two goals for the Bruins, and rookie William Nylander notched a hat trick for the Maple Leafs.
The Bruins fall to 26-23-6 with the loss, while the Maple Leafs improve to 24-17-9 with the victory.
Here’s how it all went down.
BRUINS STRIKE FIRST
The B’s wasted no time jumping out to a lead, as they struck at the 2:07 mark in the first period. Boston took a page out of Toronto’s playbook with great transition hockey, as Patrice Bergeron found Pastrnak for the opening goal. Toronto used its coach’s challenge on the play, but the review was inconclusive.
BRUINS GET SLOPPY
Boston continued to hold its one-goal advantage a little past the halfway mark in the first period when David Backes turned the puck over at the offensive blue line. Auston Matthews gathered the puck off the turnover and slid it to center Nazem Kadri, who fed Nylander to tie the score at one at the 11:15 mark in the first period.
TORONTO TAKES THE LEAD
The B’s got sloppy again in the second period, as they had issues getting the puck out of the defensive zone. A wayward puck found James van Riemsdyk, who buried it past Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead at the 8:31 mark in the second period.
NYLANDER’S HAT TRICK
Shortly after the Leafs took the lead, Nylander found the back of the net twice in a two-minute span to swell the lead to 4-1. After Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller fell down with the puck, Nylander finished a breakaway with a hard wrist shot.
Toronto went on the power play a minute later, and Nylander smoked another wrist shot past Rask, causing the Bruins to pull the veteran goalie.
BRUINS ON THE COMEBACK
Trailing by three goals, the B’s answered quickly when Pastrnak got his second tally of the game by putting home a rebound off a Zdeno Chara shot at the 10:55 mark in the second period.
Four minutes after Pastrnak got the B’s within two, Toronto center Tyler Bozak got sent to the box for interference. The Bruins responded quickly with the man advantage, as Torey Krug fired a rocket past Frederik Andersen to get Boston within one. The goal was Krug’s fifth on the year.
SPOONER TIES IT
The Bruins had multiple opportunities to tie the game early in the third period. Finally, at the 10:06 mark in the period, Ryan Spooner banged home a rebound off a Chara shot from the point.
WILD ENDING
After Spooner tied the game, the Leafs answered five minutes later when Connor Brown scored his 12th goal of the season. However, the Bruins and Bergeron refused to say die, as the center found the back of the net on the power play at the 17:06 mark.
Toronto would get the last laugh, however, as van Riemsdyk whirled around and fired a rocket past goalie Zane McIntyre with under two minutes to play.
UP NEXT
The B’s will take the ice again Thursday when they host the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
