Bruins

Bruins’ gutsy Game 3 mapped out blueprint to a first-round win over Maple Leafs

"Special teams, again, [was] a major factor in the game tonight.”

By Conor Ryan

April 25, 2024

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The Maple Leafs seemingly learned their lesson this season. 

Sure, Toronto’s claim as a viable contender is still bolstered by a high-octane offense fueled by elite talents like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander. 

But after years of fruitless postseason campaigns, Brad Treliving made a concerted effort to steel his team for playoff hockey in 2024. Up front, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi have provided netfront jam in top-six roles, while Ryan Reaves has doled out plenty of welts (and right hooks) on the checking unit. 

On the blue line, brawn has been prescribed in the form of 6-foot-5 Joel Edmundson, Simon Benoit (245 hits), and Ilya Lyubushkin (168 hits). 

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. At least, when it comes to first-round meetings between the Leafs and Bruins, apparently. 

Because on Wednesday night, Boston’s 4-2 win in Game 3 followed a familiar script: With the Bruins landing punches against an uber-talented but deeply flawed lineup — and a pained Scotiabank Arena crowd once again silenced by hockey’s best heel in Brad Marchand. 

“I guess now I witnessed it firsthand,” Jim Montgomery said of Marchand’s performance on Wednesday. “But I love watching hockey. And even if I wasn’t coaching in the NHL, I was watching him and [Patrice] Bergeron and what the Bruins were doing because they’ve always been an elite team. And he’s always risen to big moments.”

Marchand’s two-goal salvo in the third period and his continued pestering of former teammate Tyler Bertuzzi will understandably draw plenty of the headlines after Boston’s road triumph.

But the Bruins have built themselves a 2-1 series lead by capitalizing on the several critical deficiencies present on Toronto’s top-heavy roster.

As evidenced in Game 2, Matthews and Toronto’s offense can decimate even the stingiest defenses on any given night, especially during 5-on-5 play. 

But Boston still holds a sizable edge over its Original Six foe when it comes to both special teams and goaltending — and it may not be particularly close.  

Look no further than Wednesday night, where a soft, short-side goal relinquished by Ilya Samsonov gave Boston new life in the second period of play.

Even though Samsonov has made some timely saves in this series, he’s also been prone to coughing up some seeing-eye tallies like the one Trent Frederic wristed home from the left circle. A steady dosage of shots should continue to make life miserable for Samsonov, who sported an .890 save percentage over 40 regular-season games.

As Samsonov let Boston back into Wednesday’s contest, Jeremy Swayman snuffed out some of Toronto’s most promising offensive zone sequences. With a 28-save performance in Game 3, Swayman is now 5-0-0 against the Maple Leafs this season (postseason included), sporting a .957 save percentage over that stretch. 

Be it Swayman or Linus Ullmark, the Bruins should hold a decided edge in net throughout this series — especially with Swayman playing at this level against a high-scoring Toronto team. 

Boston’s strong play in net has been reflected during special teams play, with Toronto’s power play now just 1-for-11 through three games.

“Well, our goaltender has been really good,” Montgomery said of Boston’s 5-for-5 showing on the penalty kill in Game 3. “Like, Toronto is getting a lot of chances. We are doing a good job in a lot of areas but they’re still going to get their chances, so you need a good goaltender.” 

Boston and Toronto have both scored five goals at 5-on-5 play so far this series, but the Maple Leafs hold the sizable advantage when it comes to actual scoring chances (78-48) through three games and 137:22 of 5-on-5 reps. 

But that momentum hasn’t carried over with Matthews and Co. when a black-and-gold sweater heads to the sin bin. Swayman and Ullmark have served as the primary equalizers on Boston’s PK unit, but Toronto’s 5-on-4 woes have been in place long before their first-round matchup with the Bruins. 

Entering the playoffs, Toronto’s man advantage cashed in on just nine of its last 72 opportunities (12.5%). That’s even worse than Boston’s beleaguered power play, which operated at 17.9% from March 2 to April 16. 

But as Toronto’s power play keeps on sputtering through the postseason, the Bruins have righted the ship in that same area — with Boston now 5-for-10 on power-play bids through three games against the Leafs. 

“Your power play needs to get you one to get you to three if not four [goals],” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said postgame. “And then it’s a good night offensively in the playoffs against a defensive team like they are and with the type of a game that it is. So it’s a big part of it.”

“Our power play has got to find ways to get one. I thought the power play was alright tonight. Had some good looks in tight around the net that we didn’t make good on, but we gotta find a way to get those in. … Special teams, again, [was] a major factor in the game tonight.”

The Bruins still have more to give offensively, especially during 5-on-5 play. Boston has elevated its physicality (168 total hits through three games) but still needs to create more on the forecheck to extend its O-zone time. 

But even if Toronto keeps on controlling play during 5-on-5 action (especially if Nylander returns from injury), the Leafs’ odds of delivering a knockout punch against Boston seem to be dwindling. 

Because unless the Bruins’ stellar goaltending bottoms out — and Toronto’s lackluster PK unit solves itself in record time — Boston should be able to take advantage of an opponent high on talent, but lacking in terms of D-zone fortitude. 

In other words, the same ol’ Leafs.