Jeremy Swayman says the Bruins will ‘be a different team come Thursday.’ Can they fend off Toronto’s momentum?

But the Maple Leafs, who were seemingly on the ropes and trudging forward without their best player, likely shared a similar sentiment about the outlook of this series after being gifted new life.

“We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves, we didn’t mail it in,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We went out and took charge of the hockey game in the first period and I thought we did a terrific job.”

Game 5 had all of the makings of a swan song for this underwhelming Toronto team.

After dropping two games on their home ice, the Leafs returned to Causeway Street without their top offensive conduit in Auston Matthews — the franchise fixture who all but willed his team (one goal, two assists, six hits, 16 faceoff wins) to a Game 2 victory.

But even with Matthews sidelined by illness, the short-staffed Maple Leafs still managed to rattle a Bruins transition game that seemed mired in molasses.

Though the teams entered the first intermission in a 1-1 deadlock, the Bruins had landed just two shots on net against new Toronto netminder Joseph Woll. The Leafs held a commanding 30-7 edge in shot attempts in the first 20 minutes, their forecheck compounding the Bruins’ problems with making clean passes out of their zone.

“We just weren’t good enough,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “I don’t have, you know, something to give you that’s concrete, that contributed to our slow start, besides the fact that Toronto was better.”

Without Matthews, the Leafs turned to a reworked top line with Max Domi centering Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner. In Domi’s 7:37 of five-on-five ice time matched up against top Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, Toronto held a 10-1 edge in shots on goal.

The Bruins’ issues with gaining sustained O-zone pressure were made worse by a poor night at the faceoff dot, with Toronto winning 32 of 53 chances.

“As much as we’ve got guys with lots of skill, and Max is certainly one of them that can make plays in the neutral zone, our game and our start to the game has to begin with the forecheck,” Keefe noted. “That’s the playoffs and that’s what this series certainly demands. And that line did that extremely well.”

While Toronto did just enough to outlast Swayman — the winner coming on a Matthew Knies tally at 2:26 overtime — the Bruins found themselves flustered by Woll.

Pressed into service after a lackluster showing from Ilya Samsonov (.883 save percentage), Woll narrowed the gap the Bruins had taken advantage of when it comes to goaltending.

The Boston College product turned aside 27 of 28 shots, robbing Trent Frederic of a second goal (and a potential series-clincher) with a sprawling pad save in the third period.

As the Maple Leafs head back to Scotiabank Arena with a healthier Matthews and some semblance of stability in net, the Bruins are staring at a familiar conundrum with their goalie rotation. Swayman (31 saves on 33 shots in Game 5) could be looking at a fourth straight start Thursday.

Granted, his stellar play may have quieted some of those concerns, and the contingency plan is having Linus Ullmark make his first start since April 22.

But even with momentum shifted back in Toronto’s favor, Keefe isn’t expecting the Bruins to replicate their no-show first period in Game 6.

“As difficult as this one was here tonight, the next one is going to be even harder, no matter where the game is played,” Keefe said. “Because now you’ve got their attention.

“I think part of the first period is them a little unsure as to how we were going to handle ourselves here tonight. I don’t think we’ll have that advantage going into the next game, psychologically. We haven’t been good on home ice, so we’ve earned ourselves another opportunity to fix that.”

Swayman’s postgame comments painted the picture of a team still poised to put this series away in Toronto.

“I got goosebumps,” Swayman said after extolling the internal drive in the room. “It’s really exciting, and we know that we’re going to respond.”

A rejuvenated Maple Leafs team appears ready to issue a similar retort.

Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.