Bruins too flat on way to 4-2 loss to Maple Leafs
RECAP: The Bruins could not find their game in a 4-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Mar 24, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; As Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) heads for his bench, Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) is congratulated at the bench after scoring a shorthanded goal during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
In what's going to be a downright hellacious ride to the finish line, and with a playoff spot still up in the air, Tuesday night at home against the Maple Leafs presented the Bruins with one of the few remaining 'gimmes' on their schedule.
But in what was one of their most frustrating nights of the season, the Bruins failed to find their footing en route to a 4-2 loss to the Leafs at TD Garden.
“We were flat," Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who took a five-minute major that helped the Leafs jump out to a lead and then push it to two early in the third period, said. "We were just flat. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, that’s on us.”
But the Bruins' problems came long before Zadorov boarded John Tavares.
Up 1-0 and with a chance to double their lead on the power play, Lukas Reichel flung a puck out to Mason Lohrei. But a smart stick from the Leafs' Matthew Knies turned the puck into a 50-50 battle, and Knies ultimately outmuscled Lohrei for a breakaway opportunity and strike on the Bruins' Jeremy Swayman.
It was the kind of back-breaking goal the B's could not afford to give up (but did) in what was another tough night for the power play, which went 1-for-5 in the loss.
“I’m not going to pick on the power play today," Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said after the loss. "Overall the whole day was a disappointment. Swayman was pretty much the only guy. We didn’t bring it and we didn’t have it today.
"Overall, it was not good enough.”
To Sturm's point, the Bruins went the final 8:33 of the second period without a shot, and finished with just 20 shots on the Leafs' Anthony Stolarz by the night's end.
Boston's goals in this one came from Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy.
It won't get any easier for the Bruins, though, as the club will now head to Buffalo for a Wednesday night showdown with the Sabres. The Sabres, the hottest team in the NHL since mid-December and on the best 40-game segment by any NHL team since the 1995-96 Red Wings, come into Wednesday's contest with a 22-9-3 home record.
