BOSTON — The latest chapter of the Bruins’ rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs began with Boston’s 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the teams’ best-of-seven series on Saturday night at TD Garden.
The two Original Six franchises have a long storied rivalry, and Toronto tried to set a physical tone even before the opening faceoff. Leafs forward Max Domi tried to provoke Brad Marchand by cross-checking and slashing the Bruins captain. But Boston kept its composure and dictated the physicality of the game.
“I really liked our team discipline. I liked our execution,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the game. “I liked the emotion we played with, and I thought the physicality of our group was very evident.”
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Pat Maroon made an immediate impact in his first postseason game for the Bruins. Not only did Maroon earn an assist on Boston’s first goal, but he was also a physical menace to the Leafs. In 11:28 minutes of ice time, he led Boston with six hits, including one that put Timothy Liljegren in the Boston bench.
“It’s a lot of emotion that comes our way, especially because the crowd gets into it,” Montgomery said of Maroon’s game. “The play he makes, that’s what he’s good at is making subtle plays that build a team game.”
Maroon set up Boston’s first goal by pinching the puck to Jesper Boqvist who skated up the ice with rookie John Beecher on a two-on-one. Boqvist made the tape-to-tape pass to Beecher as Lilegren tried to disrupt the play. Beecher got his snap shot past Toronto goaltender Ilya Samsonov for his first career postseason goal.
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“I thought Beecher was really good,” Montgomery said. “I think that’s the best game he’s ever played as a Bruin. The challenge for not only him but for our entire group is can we do it again.”
Montgomery said Maroon impacted the bench as well as his play on the ice.
“What he’s really good at is on the bench, and what we noticed is … a lot of positive talk, a lot of reinforcement of what the game plan is,” Montgomery said. “He really grabbed his linemates, Boqvist and Beecher, and really positive reinforcement of what they’re doing next shift, not just what happened.”
Along with getting production from the bottom six forwards — Trent Frederic added an empty net goal with 2:08 left in regulation — the Bruins broke through in the power play in the second period. Jake DeBrusk scored both of Boston’s power-play goals.
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“I thought Jake was terrific,” Montgomery said. “I thought the majority of the game, I would say that everybody really executed the way we wanted. It was a real good team effort.
“And that’s why I felt we could go wave after wave like we did, all six (defensemen), and the four lines. Jake was really good. That third goal, that shot, that’s a goal scorer’s goal. It’s nice to see him get rewarded for a lot of the hard work he’s done.”
More Bruins
Here are more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Maple Leafs game:
— Brad Marchand assisted on both of DeBrusk’s power-play goals. With the two points, Marchand moved into second all-time in franchise history with 130 career playoff points behind Ray Bourque’s 161. Entering the postseason, Marchand was tied with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci with 128 points.
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— Brandon Carlo scored his first goal of the postseason, the second of his career in 60 playoff games. He finished the night with three shots, two blocks and three takeaways over 17:47 minutes of ice time. Carlo and his defensive partner Hampus Lindholm were tasked with shutting down Auston Matthews and held the Toronto star to no points and five shots.
— Jeremy Swayman got the nod in net for the Bruins in his first-ever Game 1 start. The 25-year-old made 35 saves, including four while the Bruins were shorthanded and another three with Boston on the man advantage to earn the win.
“I thought his athleticism allowed him to make some really good kind of bouncing puck rebound saves,” Montgomery said. “He made a couple of point-blank saves early in the first, and then I thought we got to our game so it was really important he made those saves.”
— The Bruins continue their best-of-seven series with the Leafs on Monday night. 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.
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Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
