In Boston, Matt Grzelcyk scored with 76 seconds left in regulation to give the Bruins a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. 
“We pride ourselves in not losing two in a row, so that was the focus tonight,” Grzelcyk said. “Those great leaders over the years with [Zdeno Chara] and [Tuukka Rask] and obviously the guys who are still here, ever since I’ve been a part of the Bruins culture, it’s always been deeply rooted, so it’s something we take a lot of pride in.”
The Leafs’ Auston Matthews had tied the game, 3-3, early in the third.
“That was honestly a pretty good hockey game,” Matthews said. “Two pretty good teams, it was tight the whole way through, and obviously they get one at the end there, and that’s enough for them. I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. Close game, could have probably went either way.”
Linus Ullmark made 18 saves n the Boston win.
The Bruins improved to 33-5-4.
“We can play with any team in the League,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “At the same time, you can’t beat yourself when you’re playing any team in the League, for that matter, but a team of this caliber [in Boston], you can’t give them freebies, and we did. … You have to learn these lessons sometimes the hard way, and you like to think our group is past some of these things, but clearly not.”
Toronto dropped to 26-11-7.
The Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead in the first period, but the Bruins tied it on a marker form Patrice Bergeron.
“If you look at their goals, we’re kind of almost handing it to them,” Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “Other than that, I thought there were some good things, but obviously you want to limit the mistakes that lead to opportunities against.”
The Maple Leafs reclaimed the lead in the middle frame on a strike form Pierre Engvall.
“That’s totally on me,” Ullmark said. “That’s unacceptable, especially in a tight game like this. You can’t have those sort of easy goals getting through you, so I’m not happy with that. I have to be honest with myself as well and move forward.”
The Bruins sent the game to the third period with a 3-2 lead on goals from David Pastrnak and A.J. Greer.
“It’s always rewarding when you get kind of the go-ahead,” Greer said. “Knowing that you’ve put in the work, whether you’re in or out of the lineup, that’s always the mentality that I have. I can’t take any day for granted, and I just keep working as hard as I can.”
Matt Murray made 30 saves. in the Maple Leafs loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.