Bruins Crinkle The Leafs 4-1 In Charlie McAvoy’s Return
The Boston Bruins’ seventh-ranked power play nets two in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the TD Garden on Saturday night. Charlie McAvoy made his return to…
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The Boston Bruins’ seventh-ranked power play nets two in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the TD Garden on Saturday night.
Charlie McAvoy made his return to the top defensive pairing since undergoing a procedure on January 22 to treat an abnormal heart rhythm. And Zdeno Chara was playing in his 1,400th career game and 870th as a Boston Bruin.
Coming into the game, goalie Tuukka Rask is 17-0-2 with a 1.63 GAA over his last 19 games coming into tonight’s game.
Over their last six games, the Leafs are 5-1, having won four in a row. And the Bruins are 7-2-1 following a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
It didn’t take long for the Bruins to jump out an early lead. Patrice Bergeron (team leading - 22) put the B’s up 1-0 almost five minutes into the first, thanks to a pretty pass from Danton Heinen after a nice play by Zdeno Chara to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
When the Bruins score first this season, they’re 19-1-5, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty.
The Leafs tied things up when Mitchell Marner’s shot from the point on the power play deflected off of McAvoy’s stick with 11:57 left in the first.
Things were all tied up heading into the first intermission after the Bruins out-shot the Leafs 13-7 in the first.
The GOAT stopped by the Garden for a ride on the zamboni!
Just over halfway through the second, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead following a great hustle play and goal by David Pastrnak (21), as he snuck one by goalie Frederik Andersen on the power play.
With more than three minutes to play in the second, a Torey Krug (8) rocket one-timer from the circle on the power play whizzed by Andersen to put the Bruins up 3-1. It was Krug’s first power play goal since October 11 against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Bruins took a 3-1 lead into the third period after out-shooting the Leafs 11-to-7 in the second.
Tim Schaller (7) dumped it out of the Bruins’ zone from the far corner with an empty Leafs’ net, and somehow the puck had eyes as it slid across the surface into the back of the net, giving the Bruins a 4-1 lead with 1:39 left in the game.
Rask had himself a night again with 23 saves, following a 32-save night on Thursday against the Blues.
UP NEXT: The Bruins (31-11-8) will play the first of back-to-back road games against the Detroit Red Wings (21-22-8) on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Catch the call of the game with Judd Sirott and Bob Beers live on 98.5 The Sports Hub with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
-- By John 'The Dude' Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com
