Ex-NHLer Ian Moran breaks down the Bruins' Game 2 win over the Leafs

Ian Moran
Special to BostonSportsJournal.com

Ian Moran played in over 500 NHL games, including 66 in the postseason, in 15 years as a defenseman with the Penguins, Bruins, and Ducks before retiring in 2008. The Acton native attended Belmont Hill and Boston College before being a sixth-round pick of the Penguins in 1990. The Duxbury resident is currently the head New England scout for Neutral Zone, a first-of-its-kind hockey scouting and news site which identifies, ranks and profiles NCAA and Ontario Hockey League (OHL) prospects from across North America. Ian will be breaking down each Bruins playoff game for BostonSportsJournal.com.

WHY THE BRUINS WON GAME 2

It’s easy to say the Bruins won because of their top line, but it’s true. Toronto doesn’t have a matchup that can play with them shift for shift. Patrice Bergeron is the best two-way forward in hockey (and it’s not close). His smarts allow David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand to use their creativity and speed to do things that Toronto can’t match.

THREE OTHER THINGS THAT JUMPED OUT

Toronto is getting dominated in front of both nets. They are consistently on the wrong side of the puck and certainly have not had the will or compete to get to the right side of it.

David Backes has been a monster on the forecheck. He has Toronto’s defense giving the puck away because they know he’s going to punish them. A tough veteran and an important piece so far.

B’s D underrated: Before the series, people were talking about Toronto’s transition game and the difficulty the Bruins were going to have, but Torey Krug, Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy have been great. I know Pastrnak has had an incredible two games but, in my opinion, Krug has been just as impactful.

THREE UP FOR BRUINS

Power play: Joe Sacco has been a huge asset for the PP. Sounds crazy, Right?? Well, he made his living being a defensive forward and a penalty killer, so the Bruins’ assistant knows what’s hard to defend and the Bruins’ PP is entirely different. Think Tampa or Washington or Winnipeg … everyone in the building knows where the shots are designed to come from and what hand those shooters are (Righties if you weren’t sure). Think Bruins PP... Where’s Krug going to be? Well, he’s a left shot D who fired a rocket pass from the right goal line on Jake DeBrusk’s goal to make it 2-0. Ok, next PP. Krug is working the left mid-wall with a right-shot Pastrnak on the point. This means neither guy is a one-timer so Toronto’s top right penalty killer over pursues Krug, leaving Pastrnak 25 feet to get his shot through, Rick Nash wins the rebound battle & the game is 4-0.

Transition game: The Bruins’ transition game is like nothing else in the East. If you’re watching the other series, it’s very obvious that the defensemen are waiting for their forwards to move and create passing lanes. Not so much with the Bs. All six d-men get the puck and move. They don’t just go North & South. They’ll go left to right and allow their forwards to gain speed coming up behind them. Toronto might expect that with David Krejci or Brad Marchand, but how many times did you see the Bruins’ D take ice and hit a delaying Tim Schaller or Noel Acciari coming up full speed on Toronto’s players who were standing still? It’s got to be a blast to play that way.

Managed minutes: Meaning ... when you’re up 4-0 or 7-3, the B’s top players can have reduced ice time. This doesn’t mean Bruce Cassidy is telling his boys to let up. It’s the exact opposite. Cassidy knows that his third and fourth lines are going to punish Toronto every shift. Being up a few goals allows the Bruins’ role guys to play valuable minutes and let some of the other guys recover a few minutes longer. This will add up over a series and the grind of the playoffs.

ONE DOWN FOR THE BRUINS

The game ended: There was a lull there for a little bit in the middle of the game, but the Bruins were strong to start and finish. They were really feeling it at the end. Confidence is high.

TWO UP FOR THE LEAFS

The game ended: Mike Babcock has his work cut out. The whole team is lacking confidence at this point.

The speed of Kasperi Kapanen and Zach Hyman: Hyman’s goal in Game 1 and Kapanen’s breakaway in Game 2 … both of these guys can fly and have the potential to create problems for the Bruins in transition and turnovers.

TWO DOWN FOR THE LEAFS

The entire team looks like the game is moving too fast for them: Two minutes into the second period Toronto scores to make it 4-1. Two minutes later Ron Hainsey passes up the gut to Auston Matthews and it’s picked off. What happens? Matthews goes for a change (which sounds brutal), but Toronto still has numbers so it’s a 3-on-4 rush into a turnover at that end. This is where the game looks too fast. Every Leaf is chasing the puck and Krejci is left alone in front for an easy tip ... bang 5-1.  Toronto is a young team with a ton of skill and they’ve capitalized on some on odd-man breaks, but in all honesty, those breaks have come because of the Bruins’ poor decisions rather than creating opportunities. Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have more than enough skill to create & it needs to happen now.

Back-to-back games with too-many-men-on-the-ice penalties: I talked about the on-ice game being too fast for the players, but this shows it’s also too fast on the bench. Coaches are into the game and are adjusting matchups at all times. When players are jumping on the ice and unaware, it shows that they’re caught up in the atmosphere of the game rather than being aware of the coaching staff’s in-game adjustments. It could be youthful exuberance, or they could be overwhelmed.

TUUKKA TICKER
His play is always a topic, so we’re asking an expert to assess him.

All the cliches go perfectly here. He stopped the ones he had too... rebound control... aggressive/confident on odd-man rushes. He also had a little puck luck on Kapanen’s first-period breakaway. If that shot goes in rather than off the post perfectly to create a cashed-in transition opportunity, the atmosphere would have changed dramatically.

ADJUSTMENTS I EXPECT TORONTO TO MAKE

Babcock has to get Matthews going. He obviously has the last change for the games in Toronto, but it’s going to be more than just that. I think he played better after Leo Komarov was injured, but zero points and perimeter shots are not going to do it.

The power play is easy to defend. There’s very little movement and consistently the only opportunities they’ve gotten have been at the top of the umbrella with one-timer options. That’s not going to cut it either.

Loosen things up: Toronto has a young team and the locker room is going to be tight playing in front of their home fans after getting it handed to them in the first two games. The coaching staff is going to have to get the team believing that they are still in the series.

AREA WHERE THE BRUINS COULD STAND TO BE BETTER

Not much to pick at: The only thing I can say is they could stand to be a little smarter at the offensive blue line. This is really about Bergeron’s line, but who’s kidding who ... they combined for 20 points over two games. That is going to have Toronto’s defense backing off the line and praying for help.