The return of Brad Marchand wasn’t enough to keep the Boston Bruins from dropping their second game in a row.
The Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs had to fight hard for every goal Friday, with each team posting more than 30 shots on goal at the Air Canada Centre. Despite the solid goaltending of Anton Khudobin, Boston ultimately would fall to the Leafs 3-2 in overtime.
James van Riemsdyk can now add “Bruins killer” to his resume, as he scored twice in Toronto to pull the Leafs even with the Bruins, including the game-tying goal which came just before the end of regulation.
The Bruins fell to 6-5-4 with the loss, while the Maple Leafs improved to 11-7-0.
Here’s how it all went down:
PENALTY KILLING
Boston’s penalty killers earned their keep Friday. Unlike in recent games, the Bruins avoided putting themselves on the back foot, with the special teams unit coming up big in the early stages.
Through the first two periods, the B’s endured three minor penalties to keep the game tied at zero. What’s more, four of the six minutes the Bruins were a man down, they were without key penalty killer Zdeno Chara, who was in the box for delay of game.
PERSISTENCE
After applying a lot of time in the Maple Leafs zone during a power play, the Bruins continued to press Toronto, and it paid off.
The B’s sent multiple men deep into the zone, and after carrying the puck below the goal line, David Pastrnak eventually found it on his stick again. Pastrnak, who was wide open on the far side, buried a forehand in the open net.
At the time, it looked like Pastrnak’s goal would be enough to seal the win for the Bruins, but that ultimately proved not to be the case.
JVR SCORES AT ALL THE RIGHT TIMES
Toronto seemed to score exactly when it needed to Friday in order to deflate the Bruins.
After Patrice Bergeron finally broke through for the Bruins in the second period, van Riemsdyk gave the Leafs an emotional lift by scoring less than a minute before the second intermission. It wouldn’t be the last time the Middletown, N.J., native gave the Leafs a kick in the pants, either.
With exactly one minute remaining in the third period, and the Bruins leading by one, van Riemsdyk recorded his second tally of the night, sending the game into overtime — in which Patrick Marleau scored his seventh goal of the year to secure the win.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return to Boston on Saturday for a rematch against the Maple Leafs. Puck drop from TD Garden is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
