Bruins Game-Breaker: Penalties give Leafs life in Game 2 loss

The Boston Bruins let Game 2 slip away from them, and the turning point was self-inflicted.

Matt Grzelcyk's interference penalty late in the second period set the stage for the Toronto Maple Leafs to seize control, then ultimately grab a 3-2 win in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Monday night at TD Garden. John Tavares' ensuing goal merely tied the game, but it was clear from that point on which team was dictating the pace.

"I actually liked our second period until we took the penalties," said head coach Jim Montgomery. "Then their power play got rolling. They get juice from their power play. I thought in the third period they were better than we were."

Grzelcyk crosschecked Tavares from behind, in front of the Bruins' net, to get called to the sin bin. Debate swirled on social media about the legitimacy of the call, as often happens. Tavares probably sold it a bit, considering he's a 6-foot-1 guy getting shoved by a 5-foot-9 guy. But there was certainly contact, and too much of it in the wrong place at the wrong time for Grzelcyk to get away with it.

The Bruins were the better 5-on-5 team in the second period, out-shooting the Leafs 9-5 with a 5-3 edge in high-danger chances at full strength. But Toronto regained control after Tavares made Grzelcyk pay for the penalty. In the third period, the Leafs out-shot the Bruins 7-4 and out-chanced them 9-2 at 5-on-5, and of course had a 1-0 edge on the scoreboard with Auston Matthews' game-winning goal.

Boston, meanwhile, couldn't capitalize on a late man advantage of their own. It felt as if Toronto had already choked off any energy they had left to gain.

"It's always good to get momentum when you have a power play," said Bruins center Pavel Zacha. "We would've liked to score on that last one in the third period, and we didn't have a good power play there. That's something we have to work on until next game."

The Bruins also got called twice for too many men on the ice, more notably in the second period. That's where Montgomery saw a Leafs team that was gifted a shot of adrenaline. And based on the third period, the better team ended up coming away with the deserved victory.

Penalties will be an obvious point of emphasis for the Bruins between Games 2 and 3. They were also sloppy with their breakout attempts and neutral zone passes. The Leafs' speed appeared to speed them up.

But it's clear, now, that the last thing the B's want to do is give the Leafs momentum by putting them on the power play. Discipline will be the word of the day at practice, all the way around.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.

The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs are tied 1-1 in their first-round playoff series, after the road team grabbed a 3-2 win in Game 2 of their opening-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.

Auston Matthews scored the game-winning goal for the Leafs after beating Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark on a breakaway. David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie were the goalscorers for the Bruins. Ullmark stopped 30-of-33 shots (.909) in the defeat, but also came up with multiple highlight-reel saves to keep the Bruins alive at times.

The Bruins drew first blood on a power play, after Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe made the ill-advised decision to crosscheck Jakob Lauko after the whistle. Geekie made him pay, finishing a slick cross-ice feed from Brad Marchand to make it 1-0.

The Bruins' first lead was extremely short-lived. Just 14 seconds after Geekie opened the scoring, Leafs winger Max Domi got behind the whole defense, then finished a rebound opportunity to tie the game 1-1.

In a fortuitous twist on the Bruins' usual problems, they were able to re-take the lead with just 7.8 seconds left in the period. That is thanks to Pastrnak, who first got the play rolling by protecting the puck and shuffling it to Pavel Zacha, before circling around to the slot. Zacha then made a nifty backhand pass to Pastrnak in the slot, where the superstar winger one-timed it home to give the B's a 2-1 lead.

The Leafs momentarily thought they had the tying goal after Tyler Bertuzzi batted the puck out of the air and in, but the officials ruled a high stick to wipe the goal off the board. However, less than two minutes later, Leafs captain John Tavares scored for real as he spun around and blasted it past Ullmark, tying the game 2-2 on a power play.

Ullmark saved his best save yet for the third period. The Leafs' Nicholas Robertson had a lot of net to shoot at on a rebound, but Ullmark was able to range over and get a piece of it with his glove, keeping the game at 2-2.

Leafs superstar Auston Matthews finally broke through during the third. Matthews got behind Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy as Max Domi lofted a perfect stretch pass his way. Matthews corralled the puck and beat Ullmark with a sick finish to give the Leafs their first lead of the series, 3-2.

Up Next: The series now shifts to Toronto, where the Bruins will look to take a 2-1 lead at Scotiabank Arena.

Get complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.