After a tough 5-1 loss on March 2nd against the New York Islanders, the Bruins end the Maple Leafs‘ two-game win streak at the Scotiabank Arena on Monday, March 4th. John Tavares scored the only goal for Toronto and Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves for Boston in their 4-1 victory.
Bruins lineup against the Maple Leafs:
Marchand – Coyle – DeBrusk
Heinen – Zacha – Pastrnak
van Riemsdyk – Geekie – Frederic
Lauko – Boqvist – Brazeau
Grzelcyk – McAvoy
Lohrei – Carlo
Wotherspoon – Shattenkirk
Swayman
Ullmark
Maple Leafs lineup against the Bruins:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Bertuzzi – Domi – Nylander
McMann – Tavares – Jarnkrok
Holmberg – Kampf – Reaves
Brodie – Liljegren
Rielly – Lyubushkin
Benoit – McCabe
Woll
Samsonov
Morgan Geekie put Boston in the lead at 10:17 of the first period with his 14th goal of the season. David Pastrnak sent him a backdoor pass and Geekie tapped it in. At 7:18, Pavel Zacha made it a 2-0 lead for the Bruins on the power play. Zacha received a pass from Pastrnak, who was under the blue line, and then from the slot blocker side he roofed a shot.
Jake DeBrusk pushed it 3-0 in the middle frame at 14:53. Charlie Coyle sent a pass to DeBrusk on a 3-on-2 rush and he scored from the top of the left circle, glove side, for his 14th of the season. DeBrusk’s goal had been the only one scored in the second period.
Early into the third frame at 16:08, John Tavares cut it to 3-1 when he shot the puck over Jeremy Swayman’s right shoulder at the top of the left circle. Pavel Zacha struck his second of the game and his 14th goal of the season… After a wraparound pass from David Pastrnak hit Timothy Liljegren’s skate, Zacha chipped the puck in the net from the right post for the 4-1 final.
Brad Marchand on the win and what message was sent to kind of turn things around for the team: “It’s definitely a positive game for us but it can’t be one off… We got a tough turnaround here with Edmonton tomorrow, so it’s just something we can build on and continue to be better out. We’re not going to be perfect every night but considering who we’re playing and how our last game went, it was definitely a good game for us,” – “We will win by committee and that starts in the room, on the bench, with energy levels and our positivity, we feed off all that. The guys were very detailed in the structure tonight… we’re not a great team when we get away from it, we’re not a rush team. When we start playing like that, we get in trouble. We play really tight defensively and we play above other teams. We’re hard to play against and we did that tonight.”
David Pastrnak on what he feels the team improved on in this game: “We had a great first period and we didn’t stop playing. They made a push because they are a heck of a team with a lot of skills but we didn’t break, so that was important. It was a heck of a game for our group, ‘Sway’ was unbelievable, and we got almost a full 60 with a great effort. So, a big win to finish the road trip and go back home tomorrow.”
John Tavares on the 4-1 loss at home: “We just made a few too many mistakes and just a little harder in certain areas. I thought they just did a little better job around their net than we did around ours… Playing against a team like Boston, games down the stretch – those are big difference makers, and margins are very small. So I think it’s a good lesson for us today.”
Notes:
– Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak recorded three assists.
Pastrnak has eight points in his past four games (two goals, six assists)… Pavel Zacha hasn’t scored since February 8th, 12 games. DeBrusk had only recorded two points in his previous 15 games (one goal, one assist).
– Joseph Woll made a total of 23 saves for Toronto.
– Morgan Rielly’s primary assist on John Tavares’ goal marked his 459th NHL point… He passed Tim Horton for third-most by a Maple Leafs defenseman in team history.
