BSJ Playoffs Report: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 2 - B’s force Game 7 taken at BSJ Headquarters (2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs)

(Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

BSJ Playoffs Report: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 2 - B’s force Game 7

By Conor Ryan

Apr 21, 2019 • 7:42 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 6 of their playoff series, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Bruins take a punch, hit right back: “Here we go again” seemed to be the collective sentiment from most of New England as soon as Morgan Rielly’s shot sailed past Tuukka Rask at 9:42 in the opening period of Sunday’s win-or-go-home Game 6. Already with their backs against the wall, the Bruins once again seemed to be knocked back on their heels against a Leafs club looking to punch its ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004. By the time Rielly’s goal found twine, the Leafs had already established some solid zone time in Boston’s end, with Boston once again laboring against a speedy Toronto roster.

Things once again appeared to be going south for the B’s north of the border, but a power-play tally from Brad Marchand put Boston back on track — leading to an extended sequence in which the Bruins finally started to find their game, and punish the Leafs on the forecheck.

During a stretch that began at 12:48 in the first and carried over all the way through the end of the second period, the Bruins held a commanding 21-9 edge in shots on goal while adding a pair of tallies from Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk. During one portion of the sequence that carried on for over 19 minutes of TOI, the Leafs only managed to get two shots on goal. A dominant response from an urgent B’s club — and a great sight to see after Friday’s disappointing loss.

Defense holds off Leafs’ push: Even with a 3-1 lead going into the final stanza, a response was expected by Toronto, who had no interest in returning to TD Garden for another Game 7. And even after Auston Matthews rifled home his fifth goal in his last four games at 4:15 in the third, the Bruins didn’t budge, despite the Leafs’ best efforts.

As the minutes ticked away, the Leafs’ 5v5 play looked much more like a stint on the man advantage, but Bruce Cassidy’s go-to options in crunch time shut down any chance of a Toronto rally. In the third period alone, Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara logged 9:19 and 8:49 of ice time, respectively, Sean Kuraly (5:36 TOI in 3rd period) and Charlie Coyle (5:33 TOI in 3rd period) killed time off the clock by extending possessions in the Leafs’ side of the ice and limiting chances with some sound backchecking, while Brandon Carlo put together one of the finest outings of his pro career — logging 23:12 of TOI while snuffing out a number of Toronto scoring chances and moving the puck out of Grade-A areas.

Add in great plays by John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk to put out odd-man rushes, and the Bruins roster as a whole showed plenty of moxie with its season on the line. Tuesday night certainly isn’t going to be easy, but Boston withstood the best that Toronto managed to throw at them in the third — in front of a loud Scotiabank Arena. Expect TD Garden to be even louder in a couple of days.




FIVE UP


Brandon Carlo:
We could give a stick tap to just about any one of Boston’s six D for their efforts on Sunday, especially in those frantic final 20 minutes of play. But Carlo, in particular, should get plenty of praise — logging 23:12 TOI, including a team-high 3:27 on a B’s penalty kill that snuffed out three Leafs’ power plays and held them to just two shots during that stretch. After a bit of a so-so start, Carlo has really come into his own during his first foray into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.


Torey Krug:
Think Krug got the memo? It hasn’t been the best series for Krug, who also had a bit of a fumble during Boston’s second power play of the night, but he made up for it in short order — burying a shot past
Frederik Andersen
to give Boston a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission. After only firing four 5v5 shots on goal through the 81:15 of TOI so far this series, Krug managed to land eight in against Andersen with 13:16 left
in the second period.
He finished with nine total on the afternoon.




Power play:
Speaking of the power play, Boston made the most on the two chances given to them in the opening period of play — with Marchand and Krug helping the B’s claw out of a one-goal deficit and return to the locker room with a lead. Toronto’s PK was actually structured pretty well, with the Leafs’ taking away Patrice Bergeron and the bumper and daring Boston to try a seam pass over to Pastrnak. Still, quick shots on net and keeping bodies in close allowed Boston to cash in on both of their opportunities.




Brad Marchand:
After Boston’s top line once again fizzled out on Friday, Marchand and the rest of Boston’s big guns made their presence felt in Game 6. Marchand finished with two goals and a helper, while the line of
David Krejci, David Pastrnak
and
Jake DeBrusk
combined for a goal and four points on the night. Boston needed to rely on its regulars to escape Toronto with a win, and they held up their end of the bargain.


Bottom Six:
While both of Toronto’s 5v5 goals came against
Charlie Coyle
’s line, Cassidy has to be pleased with how his bottom six fared in terms of generating scoring chances and more importantly possessing the puck. In 12:28 of 5v5 TOI in which the Coyle and Kuraly lines were deployed, Boston held a plus-11 differential in shot attempts and a plus-7 differential in shots on goal.


TWO  DOWN


Karson Kuhlman:
While the Bruins’ third line had a major rebound after a sluggish showing in Game 5, Kuhlman does get a knock for this sequence. Simply put, you have to get the puck out of there.




This guy:
C’mon man.




PLAY OF THE GAME


Jake DeBrusk finally breaks through — burying his first goal of the postseason off of a great give and go with
David Krejci.




PARTING THOUGHT


I … don’t know how
Travis Dermott
didn’t get called for anything on this sequence. Still, puck don’t lie — as a tripping call on Dermott eventually led to Krug’s goal in the first period.




LOOKING AHEAD


It all comes down to this — with Game 7 set for Tuesday night at TD Garden. Puck drop will most likely be set for 7 p.m.

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