BSJ Game Report: Bruins 6, Maple Leafs 3 - Bruins offense breaks through, McAvoy takes late hit from Hyman taken at TD Garden (Bruins)

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Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Bruins 6, Maple Leafs 3 - Bruins offense breaks through, McAvoy takes late hit from Hyman

By Conor Ryan

Dec 8, 2018 • 11:30 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Boston’s offense wakes up: After tallying just six goals in its past four games, Boston’s dormant offense equaled that scoring barrage through 60 minutes of play against the Leafs on Saturday. Sure, Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, David Krejci and David Pastrnak combined for seven points in the victory, but it was far from the usual suspects that capitalized against Toronto. With Jake DeBrusk out of commission for the weekend, it was Boston’s depth that finally broke through against a Maple Leafs team entering the contest with a six-game point streak. From the start with a rebound goal in front from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson or a power-play tally from David Backes — Boston has to be encouraged with the play of a number of skaters that have struggled to find their footing so far this season. Add in strong showings from Danton Heinen (one goal, one assist) and Ryan Donato  (one goal, one assist) — who showed a willingness to bring the puck down low in Grade-A areas and fight along the boards, and it’s looking like some slumping parts of Boston’s lineup are starting to trend in the right direction.

Things get dangerous late: What should have been a feel-good win for the B’s was marred in the third period when Zach Hyman drilled Charlie McAvoy into the boards a full second after releasing the puck. McAvoy, playing his second game after missing the last seven weeks due to a concussion, did not pay for the remainder of the night, but did rejoin his teammates on the bench during the closing minutes of regulation. Bruce Cassidy noted after the game that McAvoy was cleared,  but that the team will be on “pins and needles” to see how he responds Sunday morning. In the fracas that followed, Matt Grzelcyk dropped the gloves with Hyman — with both skaters heading off with matching game misconducts.




Minutes later,
Chris Wagner
dropped the gloves with
Ron Hainsey
after attempting to drop the Leafs top defenseman,
Morgan Rielly,
out in open ice. 




FOUR UP


Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson
: Frequently knocked by Boston’s coaching staff for his lack of “compete” at times, the young center has made an effort since his latest benching to fight in the dirty areas, and it’s starting to pay off. While Forsbacka Karlsson put himself in a good spot off a crisp backhand feed from
David Pastrnak
, props to the pivot for sticking with the play — jamming the second chance past
Frederik Andersen
for his third goal of the year.




David Krejci:
he man in the middle of Boston’s topheavy line of Marchand-Krejci-Pastrnak surpassed a significant milestone off a secondary helper in the closing minutes of the second period. Assisting on
Torey Krug
’s first goal of the season, Krejci surpassed
Cam Neely
for 10th all-time on the Bruins’ scoring list with 592 points. A nice milestone for No. 46, who added a goal in the third period. 


Danton Heinen:
You can give credit to any of the 10 skaters that tallied at least a point in Saturday’s win, but we’ll give a stick tap to Heinen, who snapped an 11-game scoreless streak with a strong outing. Whether it be finishing in tight on Andersen for his third goal of the year or setting up Donato with a slick saucer pass minutes later, it was a major step in a right direction for Heinen, who has proven that he can produce at this level.


Jaroslav Halak:
Even though the Maple Leafs added a pair of goals in garbage time, Halak was sharp when he needed to be early on, especially in a first period where Toronto held a 6-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances during five-on-five play. Halak finished with 29 saves on 32 shots.




ONE DOWN


Over-passing:
Even though Boston’s offense finally erupted in Saturday’s matchup, you have to think that the B’s could have potted a few more on the night if it wasn’t for some infuriating over-passing. Hey, I’m all for getting the rest of the team involved, but you have to take the shot when you get chances like these — especially for a Bruins team averaging just 1.6 goals in its last five games entering Saturday.






PLAY OF THE GAME




PARTING THOUGHT


Brandon Carlo
drops the gloves with
Nazem Kadri.




LOOKING AHEAD


The Bruins will be right back at it on Sunday evening, with the B’s heading up to Ottawa for a matchup against the Senators. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.

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