In Boston, the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs needed a statement game on Tuesday night and got it with a 6-4 win over the Bruins.
“I’d say [our effort was] complete,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Obviously we gave a couple late ones up in the third, but I just thought we didn’t give them a lot and managed a couple of response pushes that they had. But it was a real patient game, and we took advantage of the opportunities that we had.”
The two teams are exchanging punches in the race for the third spot in the Atlantic Division.
Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly had goals for the Maple Leafs.
“I don’t think it was an easy game at all,” Rielly said. “I thought they came out well, and we matched. Then it just kind of goes from there. Early on I didn’t think our power play was on. They get one on their power play. So, the game’s up for grabs. I thought we played well.”
Petr Mrazek got the start for for Toronto and surrendered one goal and made three saves before departing the game with an injury early in the first period.
Erik Kallgren finished the game for the Maple Leafs and made 23 saves.
Colin Blackwell, Rielly, and Alexander Kerfoot scored in the first period to help give the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead after the first 20 minutes.
“The first couple games I’ve just been kind of getting comfortable. I thought I kind of had a little bit more to give,” Blackwell said. “I thought our guys did a really good job of kind of weathering their storm and, you know, playing on our toes all night. It was fun. … It felt like a playoff game.”
Toronto improved to 42-19-5.
David Pastrnak had the Boston goal in the first.
“Obviously we weren’t prepared to play,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s a bit of a surprise in that area that we weren’t sharp early on. All those things don’t happen, and you need your goaltender to bail you out. That didn’t happen, and that’s where the game got away from us.”
Mitchell Marner, Matthews, and David Kampf pushed the lead to 6-1 in the middle frame.
Jake DeBrusk scored near the end of the second period to get the Bruins within 6-2.
Boston dropped to 41-20-5.
“I think we showed good fight in the third,” Boston’s Charlie McAvoy said. “We crawled back and had a couple chances at the end. That’s a good sign of our makeup and resilience, but we can’t go down as much as we did and expect to win.”
Curtis Lazar and Taylor Hall scored in the third period, but it was too little for the Bruins to catch the Leafs.
“It’s tough,” Lazar said. “I just thought they were more hungry tonight. So it’s a good lesson for our team down the stretch. We’re going to get them again during the regular season, and we’ll hopefully cross paths later on.”
Jeremy Swayman was the starter for the Bruins, he made 19 saves and yielded six goals through two periods of play. He was given the hook in the second intermission.
Linus Ullmark made seven in a mop up role in the third period.
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