The Leafs hosted the Boston Bruins on Saturday night to conclude their three-game homestand. The blue and white were looking to go a perfect three for three; so far, they defeated both the Florida Panthers and the Seattle Kraken via the shootout. Whenever the Leafs and Bruins square off against each other, it is always a lock that the game will be entertaining from start to finish, and tonight was no different. Unfortunately for Leafs Nation, the Leafs came up short in this one. They did manage to tie the game with just 4.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime … again. However, it was the Bruins who skated away with the 4-3 overtime victory. So far this season, half of their games have gone beyond the traditional 60 minute mark.
First Star – David Pastrnak
Pasta always seems to bring his best whenever he plays against the Leafs and once again, he did not disappoint last night. He played a total of 23:10, he scored a goal, had two assists, was plus three, and fired TEN shots on goal! So far this season Pastrnak has appeared in 23 games for the Bruins where he has scored 14 goals and 22 assists for a total of 36 points. To this day it still blows my mind that David fell to 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Whenever he enters the offensive zone he is always a threat from anywhere on the ice. He is in the first year of his new eight-year 90 million million-dollar contract extension, and somehow, he is going to prove that having him signed at that number for the next seven years after this one is an absolute steal.
Second Star – Auston Matthews
This was Matthews’ best game in quite some time. He was an absolute beast from start to finish for the Leafs. He played a total of 23:40 last night where he scored two goals, was plus one, he fired seven shots on goal, blocked a shot, had a takeaway, and went 57.1% in the faceoff dot. Auston was due to have a game like this in my opinion. His most noticeable play last night was the absolute rocket he fired past Linus Ullmark with just 4.8 seconds to go in regulation, sending the fans and the Leafs bench into a frenzy. He was noticeable every single shift he was on the ice. Even head coach Sheldon Keefe was impressed with the Leafs’ franchise player. When asked what his thoughts were on Auston’s game he simply said “I thought he was a beast out there tonight”. It’ll be interesting to see if this game is the beginning of a hot stretch of games for number 34 moving forward.
Third Star – Linus Ullmark
Ullmark was outstanding last night for the Bruins. He made timely saves and honestly, he was one of the main factors why the Bruins came away with the victory. He faced a total of 40 shots through regulation and overtime, and he managed to turn aside 37 of them giving him a 0.925 save percentage on the night. Coming off of his Vezina winning season last year, Ullmark has appeared in 12 games so far this season for the Bruins. In those 12 games, he has an 8-3-1 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a 0.918 save percentage. Those numbers may not be as good as the numbers he put up last season but there is no denying he is off to a great start once again this year. Before the game last night, Hockey Night in Canada aired a very heartfelt story about Ullmark. If you didn’t get the chance to check it out, I highly recommend it; it gives you an idea of what Ullmark has had to deal with and overcome so far in his life, both on and off the ice.
Worth noting Max Domi finally scored his first goal as a Leaf last night. Heading into last night’s game Domi had gone goalless through the first 20 games of the year. He had 11 assists but he finally got the monkey off his back last night with his first goal. If you take a look at his celebration following the goal, you can see the weight finally being lifted off of his shoulders.
The Leafs do not return to action until Thursday when they are set to take on their Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators, at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
