Leafs Blank Bruins (11/5/24)

After the Boston Bruins enjoyed back to back shutouts, it was their turn to take the goose egg tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This was a game of penalties with the Bruins taking a grand total of EIGHT on the road in Toronto while the Leafs themselves seven. The difference was the Leafs cashed in with three power play goals while the Bruins did absolutely nothing. Anthony Stolarz was a perfect 29 for 29 while the Bruins couldn't stay out of the penalty box. Things fell apart in the second period when Nikita Zadorov was bagged for interference leading to a Morgan Reilly power play goal. Less than a minute later David Pastrnak went off for high sticking and William Nylander scored to essentially end the game. One minute after that, Charlie McAvoy went off for hooking but they managed to kill that one off. The kiss of death came in the third period when Mark Kastelic got nailed for roughing. Matthew Knies did the honors with a power play goal and Steven Lorentz got the empty netter after Jim Montgomery pulled Jeremy Swayman with four minutes left down 3. The Leafs had blanked the Bruins 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena. How many goals did the Bruins score Dean Wormer?

The Leafs got the first big chance 23 seconds in when Jake McCabe walked in alone but his shot ricocheted off Jeremy Swayman. 20 seconds later Justin Brazeau fired on Anthony Stolarz but the shot was gloved. 1:44 into the game Nick Robertson skated past 3 Bruins and fired on Swayman, but Jeremy stopped it. The Bruins got the first power play when the Leafs got caught with too many men 2:27 into the first period. Thirty seconds into the power play, David Pastrnak blasted a one timer that knocked Stolarz flat but he held on. The power play ended early when Charlie McAvoy was called for tripping to give Toronto the man advantage. Thankfully the Bruins defense held up to kill it off. 5:30 into it Kastelic tried to sneak one past Stolarz but the attempt was unsuccessful. A minute later, Nikita Zadorov blasted a slapper but Stolarz caught it. Ten minutes into the period, Zadorov was robbed again. A few seconds later Brad Marchand was hit in the foot by an errant shot and hobbled off the ice. Thankfully he was okay and with 8:08 left, Swayman robbed Pontus Holmberg point blank to keep the game tied. With 6:27 left, Charlie Coyle was nabbed for tripping to give Toronto another power play. With 5 minutes left and shorthanded, Pavel Zacha flipped the puck up to a streaking Elias Lindholm, but Holmberg got back in time to disrupt the shot. Things got chippy with 3:19 remaining in the period when Chris Tanev boarded Brad Marchand from behind. Both players started wrestling with each other after the whistle and both men received matching roughing penalties. The boarding penalty put Boston on the power play and McAvoy passed to Elias Lindholm on the right sight of the net. Lindholm spotted Coyle and front and dished it to him, but Stolarz got a blocker on the shot to deflect it. Once the Leafs were back to full strength, Morgan Reilly shot on net but Swayman saved it. Nothing else happened and the score was 0-0 going into the second.

                                                            Close but no cigar

The second period went south for the Bruins although they did get the first power play of the period when McCabe was bagged for high sticking 2:27 into the period. With four minutes gone, Pastrnak spotted Marchand in the slot but his shot was sent wide by Stolarz. Five minutes into the period, Max Pacioretty won a puck battle behind the net and dished it to a wide open William Nylander, but Swayman made the big save. Things went straight to hell when Zadorov was sent off to the box for interference 8:29 into the second period. Just 15 seconds later, Matthew Knies dished it to Mitch Marner who passed it to Reilly at the point. His slapshot went in and the shutout streak ended with the Leafs taking a 1-0 lead. Just 50 seconds later, Pastrnak was whistled for high sticking. Just 24 seconds after that, Reilly's shot rattled around the boards onto Marner's stick. He passed it to Nylander on the side of the net. He threw it toward Knies in front of the net but it went off the skate of Brandon Carlo and in for the insurance goal. The Bruins best chance of the night occured off the face off when they had a 3 on 1. Andrew Peeke passed it to a wide open Justin Brazeau....denied by Stolarz. Before the Bruins could gain any momentum, McAvoy was sent to the box for hooking. With 8 minutes left in the period, Max Domi skated threw the entire team and shot on Swayman, but Jeremy stopped it. With 4:52 left, Holmberg got whistled for slashing and it was Boston's turn on the power play. Things looked good when Stolarz lost his stick with four minutes left in the period but Pastrnak's backhander was gloved by Anthony. With one minute left in the period, Domi went off for slashing but the Bruins failed to score to end the period. The Leafs led 2-0 going into the break.

                                                     Leafs cash in on the power play twice

The Bruins had one minute left of power play time as the third period began and 43 seconds later, Marchand got thrown in the box for tripping to put the Leafs on yet another power play. Jonathan Beecher collided with Hampus Lindholm to allow John Tavares to stand in front of the net. Thankfully Swayman denied Tavares to keep it a two goal game. Five minutes into the period, Knies was put in the penalty box for hooking. With 30 seconds left in the power play, Mitch Marner passed the puck to David Kampf for a wide open shorthanded breakaway, but Swayman stopped the shot. With 10 minutes left in the game, Zadorov passed down low to Cole Koepke but Stolarz made a great save to deny him. Marchand broke in a few seconds later but Stolarz sent his backhand attempt away. With 6:40 left, Swayman denied both Nylander and Pacioretty. Naturally 20 seconds later, Kastelic was escorted to the penalty box for roughing. With 5:47 left, Reilly passed to Nylander. Nylander threw the puck in front and it went in off the stick of Knies for the dagger. Say whatever you want about the penalties, but the Leafs cashed in where the Bruins didn't. With four minutes left, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery pulled Swayman. Hampus Lindholm fired on net but it got deflected to the stick of Chris Tanev. He passed it to Steven Lorentz to bury the empty netter. The final four minutes were uneventful and the Leafs had shut them out 4-0.

                                                               Total domination

Reaction:

Anyone who complains about the referees didn't watch the game. This wasn't about penalties, it was about cashing in on them. The Bruins took 8 penalties and the Leafs 7, but it was the Leafs who scored 3 times while the Bruins came away with nothing. The key to the game was Stolarz playing out of his mind and the Bruins failing to score on seven damn power plays. Did the referees go penalty happy with 15 combined? Maybe, but you have to score on the chances you're given and the Bruins didn't. Stolarz had a hell of a game and sometimes you just gotta tip your cap to a job well done. On this night, Toronto was the better team and gotta give credit where credit is due. The Bruins have a long way to go this season but going 0 for 7 on the power play is not a good sign. Hopefully they can shake this off, especially how Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo had a 7 straight shutout period streak going. The Bruins look to bounce back this Thursday night when the Calgary Flames come to town. The game begins at 7:10 PM at TD Garden.