You may have heard of this little commercial the Bruins have been running in advance of and during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A vaguely familiar voice says that, earlier in the season, the Bruins were, "Too, too young."
Well, after a 50-win regular season and a dominating 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their first-round series, the Bruins might need to update that spot.
Too, too good is more like it.
At least for this round, against this team.
"We have to be better, obviously," said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. "They were good, we weren’t good enough. Puck went in for them, it didn’t go in for us. They were better than us."
There were three themes heading into this series when it came to the Bruins.
One, the Leafs, with their youth and speed, were a bad matchup for this Bruins team that trends a little more veteran and a tad slower.
Two, the Bruins limped into the postseason having gone 1-3-1 down the stretch and blew a chance for the top seed with a poor 4-2 home loss to a Panthers team with nothing to play for. Teams can't just turn it on and off like that.
And three, some of the Bruins' best players aren't very good postseason performers. Brad Marchand came in with one goal in his last 26 postseason games. David Krejci was 0 for his last 22. Tuukka Rask's history in tough spots has been spotty.
How did things play out?
Bruins young and old suffocated the Leafs all over the ice. The forecheck was on point, the Bruins were able to make Toronto's standouts handle the puck in uncomfortable places, and Boston just continuously harassed the visitors, outshooting them 31-20 over the final two periods.
"We wanted to play with pace," Bruce Cassidy said. "I thought we did early and allowed us to get behind their D. I think puck management was a point of emphasis for us as much as anything against a fast-break team that can score quickly. So, that was our goal, and physicality goes along with that."
When it came to the Bruins' late-season slumber, it was obvious the team was tired with a tough schedule down the stretch. The Bruins thought a few down days would do them some good and right the ship.
That would be an affirmative.
The Bruins came out at a breakneck pace in the first 10 minutes that overwhelmed the young Maple Leafs.
"Yeah I think no offense to you guys but you put more emphasis on the way the season ended in our little trend there but we kind of knew we needed a little reset," David Backes said. "We needed a couple days of rest, we had to bring it here for the playoffs. ... I think as a collective unit we all just looked at each other and said it’s time to go out there and do our thing and not be distracted by anything."
Said Cassidy: "We were ready, we were on time, and we were energized. That’s what it looked like to me. We were winning pucks, getting it behind their D, the way you want to play early on. Force them to break out pucks, put them in uncomfortable positions and try to tilt the ice, and I thought we did a real good job with that early on."
As for those players that needed to step it up in the postseason?
Marchand, who kept his cool despite Leo Komarov constantly baiting him, scored the Bruins' first goal and later added an assist. Krejci did the same. Rask was rock-solid with 26 saves.
There was probably no better example of the Bruins' all-around mastery of the Maple Leafs than a crucial goal with 28 seconds left in the second period that sent Boston into the break with a 3-1 lead that put Toronto in a tough spot on the road.
It started with David Pastrnak winning a puck in the neutral zone and getting it deep where Patrice Bergeron won the race down the ice and tapped it to Marchand, who had Kasperi Kapanen grasping at air. Marchand perfectly setup Pastrnak for a one-timer that Frederick Andersen paddled aside. Marchand retrieved the puck and made Leafs star Auston Matthews look silly chasing ghosts. Marchand fed Pastrnak, who sniped the corner over Andersen's right shoulder.
DAVID PASTRNAK SNIPES HOME AN ABSOLUTE BEAUTY! BRUINS BACK UP 2! #GoBruins 3 - 1 #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/5USjRlIzvo
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 13, 2018