In 2018, The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 5-1 at home in Game 1 and 3-1 in Toronto in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. They ended up winning the series in seven games. The Leafs are hoping the future repeats itself. Except this time, completing the comeback and winning the series. Game 5 swings back to Boston at 7:00 pm EST, Tuesday night.
Neither team has dominated the other so far in this series, and one might argue this series is more about what Toronto hasn’t done rather than what Boston has done.
Either way, the Bruins cross the border with a chance to close the series out, and with Florida getting the extra rest, they would be wise to get the job done as soon as possible. These same Bruins choked away a 3-1 series lead to Florida last year, so rest and preparation is key.
Marchand, Pastrnak Deliver Game 4 Win for Bruins
There’s a lot to unpack on the Toronto side of things, so let’s start with the Boston Bruins. The opening frame was lifeless for both sides, but the Bruins have done a great job in all series of completely shutting down the Leafs off the rush and relying on their opportunistic offense to get the edge they need. Former Maple Leaf James van Riemsdyk scored the lone first-period goal, giving the Bruins the lead.
Halfway through the second, Brad Marchand scored a powerplay marker to not only put the Bruins up by two but write his name in the Boston Bruins history book. With that goal, Marchand set the franchise record for Stanley Cup Playoff goals with 56, passing Boston legend Cam Neely.
David Pastrnak has been relatively quiet in this series, but he did what he had to on Saturday. Pastrnak scored a dagger with forty-two seconds left in the second period, prompting boos to rain down on the home team as the horn sounded. The rest, as they say, was history.
Years of Disappointment Bubbling Over in Toronto
Speaking of history, after being out of the playoff picture since 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs made it back to the dance in 2016. That was eight years ago, and since then, they have won one playoff series. This, subsequently, means that they’ve won one playoff series since 2004.
In those eight years, they’ve had less than 100 points just three times, and two of those times, the seasons were shortened due to COVID-19. The hopes have been high coming into April for a good while now.
In more recent memory, the Leafs have now lost six straight playoff home games, and have scored more than two goals once in the last twelve playoff games.
With that brief history lesson, you can understand why the fanbase, in the building or not, has had enough of the same old Maple Leafs.
Flat Performance Sinks Maple Leafs
For a team that has high expectations, not to mention pressure, it is incredible how embarrassing and uninspiring their performance was on Saturday.
They had two shots in the first ten minutes of the game, and that included a powerplay opportunity. They finished the first forty minutes with sixteen shots but nothing that remotely tested Swayman. Boston did finish the game with twenty-seven blocked shots, but a lot of them came towards the end of the game, and the ones that didn’t were quality chances, to begin with.
Partway through the second period, cameras were all over Matthews and Nylander giving Marner some very choice words, followed by Marner throwing his gloves down behind the bench in frustration. In all of the years of heartbreak, this is something new.
Marner did end up scoring the only goal for Toronto, which came in the third period.
We just saw Vancouver, down 3-1, come back against Nashville, scoring two goals in less than two minutes and winning the game in overtime. After Marner’s goal, there was absolutely none of that. Toronto quietly closed out the game, yet again inviting a scared fanbase to voice their frustration.
What to Expect in Game 5
Auston Matthews, who has been dealing with an illness all week, left the ice before the third period and did not return. He is questionable for Tuesday night.
In the Toronto net, Samsonov was pulled after allowing three goals on seventeen shots, and all signs point to Joseph Woll getting his first start in the series.
In the Bruins net, Jeremy Swayman started back-to-back games for the first time this series on Saturday and looks to be the starter for Game 5. He is 3-0 in the series with a 1.34 GAA and a .956 SV%.
In the one game Toronto has won, they scored a powerplay goal. In total, they are 1/14 with the man advantage, while the Bruins are 6/13. This series does seem to be more about what Toronto hasn’t been able to do, and they need to find a way to change that narrative to give themselves some life in this series.
To bring this full circle, the Leafs have only lost two series in less than seven games these past eight years. Despite all of the negative energy and their best player potentially out, hitting the road can be nothing but a good thing for this squad. I see them keeping the series alive, and we’ll see what happens after that.
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