In Toronto, the Bruins Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves in a 4-1 win for Boston over the Maple Leafs on Monday night. 
“It felt good to come in here and have a big bounce back game from New York (5-1 loss to the Islanders)and just see these guys backchecking the way they did, playing the right way for 60 minutes, that’s a big momentum game for us,” Swayman said. “Really happy with our team’s effort tonight.”
Boston moved to 36-13-14).
“Every divisional team you definitely give it a little bigger focus, because those are big points, and they were almost like four especially being in the same division, so those games you definitely give it more focus,” Boston’s David Pastrnak (three assists) said. “But playoffs are still 20 games or so away, so you don’t look that far ahead (to a potential matchup against the Maple Leafs).”
The Bruins took a 3-0 lead into the third period.
Morgan Geekie scored just ahead of the midway point of the opening stanza for a1-0 lead to Bruins, scoring off a tap in of a shot by Pastrnak.
Pavel Zacha made it 2-0 when hit for the first of a double at 12:42, scoring off a power play, assisted by Pastrnak.
The Maple Leafs dropped to 35-18-8.
“They defended their net a lot better than we defended ours here,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “The quality of chances I thought that we gave up were more challenging than theirs.”
In the middle frame, Jake DeBrusk extended the Bruins advantage to 3-0 at 5:07, scoring off an odd man rush.
“We had a great first period and we didn’t stop playing,” Pastrnak said. “They obviously made a push because they’re a heck of a team with a lot of skills, but we didn’t break. We bent but we didn’t break. It was a heck of a game for our group, and Swayman was unbelievable.”
Toronto’s John Tavares broke through at 3:52 of the third period, makingit 3-1 to Boston.
“We just made a few too many mistakes and (they were) just a little harder in certain areas,” Tavares said. “I thought they just did a little better job around their net than we did around ours. Playing against a team like Boston in games down the stretch, those are big difference-makers. Margins are very small, so I think it’s a good lesson for us today.”
Zacha collected his double midway through the third for the 4-1 final count on the scoreboard.
“He is such a great guy, and for him to come out and battle through his injury the way he did and produce the way he did, not even just produce, but his overall game, he competed so hard all night and was all around the puck in battles,” the 
Bruins’ Brad Marchand said. “The way he took control and led our group right from the first shift was great to see, and that’s what you feed off of, when guys are playing through injuries and competing at that level. So, much respect. When a guy is willing to lay his body on the line for you and play through that, you definitely want to repay the favor.”
Joseph Woll made 23 saves for
“I thought both teams played hard,” Woll said. “I thought there were periods of the game we were playing very well, and at the end of the day, they capitalized on a couple of their chances, and that was the difference.”
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