Bruins Notes: Boston, Maple Leafs Bring Out Best In Rivalry

When the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs have collided on the ice as of late, the two sides never fail to remind everyone why it’s one of the best rivalries in all of hockey.

And in case anyone forgot, the Bruins and Maple Leafs served up another thrilling showdown Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Auston Matthews leveled the score in the final seconds of regulation, which set the stage for a frenzy overtime period and culminated in Brad Marchand potting the game-winning goal to lift the Bruins to a thrilling 4-3 win.

On paper, it looks like the rivalry has been one-sided as of late with the Bruins winning each of the last five matchups. But four of those contests have been decided by a single goal and the last three meetings have gone to overtime.

“Obviously it’s one of our rivals, Original Six, Saturday night, nothing better than that,” David Pastrnak told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “That’s why we play and always fun to win, especially here.”

Playing the Maple Leafs seemed to put an extra jump into the skates of the Bruins and bring out the best of both teams, especially in overtime, where it was nonstop action.

The Bruins and Maple Leafs traded breakaway chances as Pavel Zacha and William Nylander both were denied before Marchand found the back of the net with less than 10 seconds left in the extra frame

“It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of energy,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told NESN’s Andy Brickley, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “It was back and forth. A lot of high-end plays being made by both teams.”

It was a showing the Bruins desperately needed against a quality opponent with the remnants of a three-game losing streak still fresh on the mind. And what Montgomery saw out of his team was a welcomed sight.

“This was the best game we’ve played in a while, maybe two weeks,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes you need to face some hard times to realize it’s not always going to come easy.”

And it surely never comes easy when the Bruins take on the Maple Leafs.

Here are more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Maple Leafs game:

— Brad Marchand now has 18 career overtime goals, which is the fourth-most in NHL history trailing only Alex Ovechkin (25), Sidney Crosby (20) and Jaromir Jagr (19).

— It took until the 23rd game of the season for Kevin Shattenkirk to score his first goal in a Bruins uniform. It was one worthy of a highlight reel, too, as he took a feed from David Pastrnak and went to his backhand to lift his attempt past Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll.

“(Pastrnak) rolled up, he had plenty of time and coach has just been encouraging me to be more aggressive,” Shattenkirk told NESN’s Sophia Jurksztowicz, as seen on the network’s postgame coverage. “Just went down in the back door and Dave makes a great play there. I get to an area I’m not too familiar with, but felt like I had him on that short side. Happy to contribute.”

— Linus Ullmark needed a bounce-back performance after allowing seven goals to the New York Rangers last week. The veteran netminder turned in a strong showing, recording a season-high 37 saves and making a number of key stops in overtime.

— The Bruins continue to struggle to close out games and have now surrendered a league-high seven goals when facing an empty-net situation this season, according to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson.

— There isn’t any rest for the Bruins as they return home to Boston on Sunday to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.