Why ‘Desperation’ For Bruins, Leafs In Game 4 Should Be High

The Bruins have a 2-1 lead over the Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the chance to move one step closer to the second round on Saturday night.

Boston will have the opportunity to go up two games in the best-of-seven series if they can defeat Toronto in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena before heading back to TD Garden for the decisive Game 5.

"Game 4 is a huge one," Bruins forward and captain Brad Marchand told reporters following practice Friday, per the team. "Going up 3-1 or coming back home 2-2, that's a drastic change in the series. The desperation for both teams should be extremely high, which normally makes it an intense game. If we expect to win that, we're going to have to have, by far, our best game of the series."

Even though the Bruins had won eight straight games against the Leafs dating back to last season before Boston's Game 2 defeat, Marchand knows Toronto will bring everything they have in an attempt to tie the series.

"We know they're gonna compete harder than they did the last few games and they were good, they were competing extremely hard," he said. "They're playing very physical, they're not giving us a ton. We have to continue to be better and improve. I said this before, but they're not the same team. They're extremely tough to play out there. It's not a fun game by any means.

"We're going to have to continue to elevate. They have the ability to do that. They have enough superstars and guys that can take over games. We know that they're gonna be better, and they're gonna continue to improve like they have, and we need to do the same."

Boston held Toronto's core four to just five points in the first three games. John Tavares and Mitch Marner each have one point, while Auston Matthews took over Game 2 with a goal and two helpers. The Maple Leafs have been without William Nylander to begin the series, and Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe hasn't confirmed if Nylander would be available for Game 4, according to The Athletic's Joshua Kloke.

"He looked great to me on the ice," Keefe said, per Kloke. "In terms of his status, we'll have to determine that (Saturday)."

Puck drop for the pivotal Game 4 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. NESN has you covered with all the action.