The Toronto Maple Leafs needed a big game from across the bench and got it Monday night in a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their series.
They terrific effort from Patrick Marleau who had two strikes in the win that got the Leafs back in the series; they are now down,2-1, to Boston.
“I think we were on it all game. We had our legs and were playing the right way,” Marleau said. “If there was a breakdown, we had another guy there to bail us out, and obviously [Andersen] had a huge game for us.
“I think everybody knows at playoff time how we need to play to be successful. We went through the regular season and we know we didn’t have our best in Boston, but we had that change tonight and got the win. Now, we have to look forward to the next game.”
Auston Matthews scored the game-winner in the middle frame.
“Tonight was definitely a statement game for us,” Matthews said. “It’s great. The crowd and everything, it feels like an earthquake when you score, especially in the playoffs.”
Frederik Andersen made 40 saves to pick up the win that avoided a 3-0 hole for Toronto.
“I thought we were on them and played with a lot of energy,” Andersen said. “We were a little bit harder around both nets, and I think the puck retrievals in the offensive zone allowed us to sustain some pressure.”
Boston’s goals came from Adam McQuaid and Zdeno Chara.
“They’re a really good team, they play well at home,” Boston forward Brad Marchand said. “We knew they were going to push back, they did, and they had a good game. We were right there; their goalie made some really big saves, so put it behind us and on to the next one.”
James van Riemsdyk staked the Leafs to a 1-0 lead late in the first period.
“I think we used our speed more which allowed us to get the puck up quicker and get on the forecheck quicker,” the Leafs’ Mitchell Marner said after the win.
[WATCH: All Bruins vs. Maple Leafs highlights | Complete Bruins vs. Maple Leafs series coverage]
Tuukka Rask made 26 saves in taking the loss.
“I thought our top line was fine for the most part. They just didn’t finish. [David] Pastrnak got robbed about three, four times. That goalie made some head-scratching saves at the end. … At the end of the day, they can be better. They had a tougher matchup tonight. [The Maple Leafs] were determined to keep them off the score sheet, and they did,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the loss.
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