Maple Leafs ‘Stepped Up’ Without Star In Game 5 Win Vs. Bruins

BOSTON — The Bruins had nearly every advantage entering Game 5 of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday night.

They held a 3-1 series lead. They returned to their home ice. Additionally for Boston, the Bruins would not see Auston Matthews, who dealt with an illness and missed the contest.

Toronto still has plenty of star power in the likes of Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander. Nonetheless, the Bruins did not have to face the NHL’s leading scorer (69 goals in the regular season), which stood out as another advantage.

The Maple Leafs, however, were not fazed. Max Domi stepped into Matthews’ spot in the lineup and delivered an assist in the eventual 2-1 win over the Bruins in overtime.

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“Every single guy in this locker room stepped up,” Domi shared. “We’re excited whenever (Matthews) gets back. He’s the best player in the world. Obviously when he comes back, it’s going to be a boost for our lineup. The boys weren’t going to let that one slide.”

“Different guys are going to step up,” Jake McCabe told reporters after Game 5. “We had that. It carried all the way through. You need depth in the playoffs.”

Trailing a major series deficit without the star that Domi called “the best player in the world” marked a major challenge for the Maple Leafs. Ultimately, they beat the Bruins in setting the tone for Game 5.

“I guess just the aggression and assertiveness that we played with from the start,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said postgame. “We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves. We didn’t mail it in. We went out to take charge of the hockey game in the first period. I thought we did a terrific job of that. Tremendous effort by everyone in the first period.”

The Bruins, still holding a 3-2 series lead, and Maple Leafs head back to Toronto for Game 6 on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.