TORONTO -- It wasn't pretty, but the Boston Bruins did enough to finish with a 3-1 victory in Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at Air Canada Centre. It also helped that goalie Tuukka Rask was the difference-maker with his share of timely saves.
Everything else you need to know about the Bruins' win in quickie form with BSJ analysis.
HEADLINES
No Patrice Bergeron: The Bruins were without Bergeron's services in Game 4 due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. A few times during practice on Wednesday, Riley Nash took a few reps in the middle of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, while Bergeron remained on the bench. When asked about it, coach Bruce Cassidy was vague with his answer and now we know why.
"They got a chance to play with me," Riley Nash said with a laugh after the game.
When Bergeron was sidelined with a broken leg late in the season, the team went 9-2-2 without him. The playoffs are a different animal, but the Bruins stepped up and pulled off the crucial victory.
That meant Sean Kuraly centered the third line with Danton Heinen and David Backes. Noel Acciari centered the fourth line with Tim Schaller and Tommy Wingels.
Closing time: The Bruins have a chance to clinch the series with a win on Saturday at TD Garden. Rask understands how important it is to close out a team because anything can happen in the Stanley Cup playoffs (see 2010 series against the Flyers).
"We have to prepare ourselves as well as we can and go for the win, obviously," Rask said. "That's the only mindset you can have. Those last games, those clinching games, are always the toughest ones. The other team is going to come out hard and do whatever they can to get a win. We have to be mentally and physically ready, get some rest (Friday) and get back at it on Saturday."
Game 4 wasn't the prettiest for the Bruins but, like so many times this season, they finished strong and closed out the win.
D chipping in: Throughout the game, Cassidy and assistant coach Kevin Dean tweaked the defensive pairings. In the third period, it was back to normal and the Bruins finished strong. In fact, Adam McQuaid's heads-up play off a D-zone faceoff helped to create Marchand's game-winning goal at 16:55 of the second period. McQuaid has one goal and one assist in this series.
BRAD MARCHAND BURIES THE PASTRNAK FEED! BRUINS LEAD!#NHLBruins 2 - 1 #TMLTalk
(@NHLBruins Lead Series 2-1) pic.twitter.com/5MjokM9ILU
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 20, 2018
TUUKKA RASK STONES MITCH MARNER WITH A GREAT BLOCKER STOP!#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/f85Uwkldw3
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 20, 2018
JAKE DEBRUSK! THE BRUINS DOUBLE THEIR LEAD!#NHLBruins 3 - 1 #TMLTalk
(@NHLBruins Lead Series 2-1) pic.twitter.com/TKrcacwGiT
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 20, 2018