Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock stressed how the first 10 minutes could mean the difference between winning and losing Game 5 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at TD Garden. Well, almost exactly at the midway point of the first period, the Maple Leafs had a two-goal lead and ultimately finished with a 4-3 victory to stave off elimination and force Game 6 on Monday (7 p.m.) at Air Canada Centre.
"It was a tough game," said Bruins forward David Pastrnak. "We let them get on the board early and they've been in the first period than us and that cost us the game."
Everything else you need to know from the Bruins' loss in quickie form and with BSJ analysis.
HEADLINES
Tuukka Rask pulled: He described it almost perfectly postgame by saying he would've had a better chance at stopping the puck with his eyes closed. As a result of his inability to stop the puck, which was completely different from his Game 4 performance, coach Bruce Cassidy pulled his starter at 10:36 of the second period after the Maple Leafs gained a 4-1 lead. Cassidy said he decided to make the change and insert backup Anton Khudobin because Rask didn't have it tonight.
Special teams not worthy: Boston's power play was 5-for-10 in the first two games of this series. Toronto was called for only one penalty in Games 4 and 5, but the Bruins were given plenty of chances in Game 5 with not much to show for it. Boston's PP went 1-for-6 and couldn't capitalize on a crucial 5-on-3 for 1:34 in the second period.
"We had chances and that's a good thing, right?" Pastrnak said. "We could have scored many times. The second PP came up big for us (scoring the lone power-play goal) and that was huge. We had chances, it just didn't go in. Hopefully, it'll be better next game."
Heading north: Players will always say that one of the toughest things to accomplish in sports is winning that fourth game to close out a seven-game series. That was certainly the case in Game 5 for the Bruins. Now, the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 6. Fortunately for the Bruins, they proved in Game 4 that can win at the ACC.
"We didn't finish it today," Pastrnak said. "We go to Toronto, win the game and that's our mindset."
TURNING POINT
Not all Tuukka: It's easy to point the finger at the goalie, but the Bruins had a golden opportunity to quickly change the momentum at 13:54 of the first period. The Maple Leafs already had a 2-0 lead when Tyler Bozak was called for slashing. Boston's power play has been lethal this series, which is why it's been important for Toronto to stay disciplined. With Bozak in the box, the Bruins created chances and even hit a post, but couldn't convert on their first man-advantage of the game. If the Bruins score during those two minutes, it could have shaken Andersen a bit and maybe momentum swings the other way for Boston. That did not happen since the Maple Leafs killed it off.
THREE UP
Freddie Andersen: In the two games the Bruins have lost in this series, Toronto's goalie has been outstanding. He made 40 saves in Game 3 and provided a 42-save performance in Game 5. Man, he was locked in. Even when the Bruins were pressing late and often, he made the timely saves.
"He played unbelievable," said teammate Auston Matthews. "The pressure's on them to close out the series and he came up us, as well as a lot of guys."
Matt Grzelcyk: The rookie defenseman continues to impress. He made an elite, world-class play on Sean Kuraly's goal at 17:18 of the second period to cut Boston's deficit to two goals.
Sean Kuraly with the one-timer!
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"It clearly wasn’t good enough," Cassidy said of the start. "We let them get to the top of the paint for a couple of goals that we’re generally solid on. We had a couple of 2-on-2s that turned into two very good chances. Clearly, we’ve got to address that. Those aren’t odd-man rushes, that’s not stretch plays, that’s just basic 2-on-2s that we need to communicate better, square up better, defend better. Then obviously, you want a save, as well, mixed in in those, and that didn’t happen either. So, the stuff that we’ve done lately -- defend, get saves, that didn’t happen early on. We found our legs eventually and fought our way back in, but the start wasn’t good enough."