BSJ Game Report: Maple Leafs 2, Bruins 1 - Bruins’ 7-game win streak snapped up in Toronto

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ loss to the Maple Leafs, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s run out of gas: The Bruins’ seven-game win streak finally came to a close up in Toronto on Saturday night, as the B’s fell to the Maple Leafs, 2-1, at Scotiabank Arena. 

For the first time in a long time, the Bruins were thoroughly out-worked by another opponent for the majority of a contest — with Boston limited to just 21 shots on goal against Toronto. 

A hefty portion of that credit should go to a Maple Leafs team in desperate need of a win, with Toronto routinely beating Boston to loose pucks while significantly slowing B’s skaters gliding through the neutral zone.  But the Bruins also made things harder on themselves up in Toronto due to a hesitancy to put pucks on net and some overall sloppy play. 

Brad Marchand scored the lone goal of the evening for the Bruins, who now drop to 10-2-0 on the season. 

Bruins players spend the day answering for team’s mistakes: Of course, it was already going to be a challenge for the Bruins to come into Toronto and beat a still-talented Leafs squad at the tail end of a four-game road trip. 

But the Bruins players were also burdened all afternoon by having to speak for their front-office personnel — a group that, through their ill-advised plan to sign Mitchell Miller has created a firestorm of controversy that is now looming over this locker room.

As the Bruins continue to receive flak from the fans, media and now both the league and even their own personnel — it has fallen on the players to be the public spokesmen for an action that was out of their control, and continues to look worse and worst with each passing minute. 

“If the kid’s going to be part of this room, we have a standard that we hold our teammates to, to be in this room,” Marchand said. “If we don’t feel like he’s there, then he will not be here. That’s like with anybody. If there’s a guy that comes in and he’s not fitting in, he’s gone. We’ve shown that year after year. I understand where it all comes from. But again, if he ever makes it here, it’ll be because he’s shown that he has learned and come the distance he’s needed to.  

“There’s a lot that comes with this, a lot of backlash and media attention the team’s going through right now. He’s got a lot of work to do. It’s a second chance he’s been gifted. He’s going to have to show that he earns it. He’s got a long, long road ahead of him.”

ONE UP

Brad Marchand: Well, if there was any way for Marchand to net his 800th career point — it would be with the star winger making a Leafs goalie look silly up in Toronto with a penalty-shot goal. Marchand now scored six penalty-shot goals in his career, tying him with Mario Lemieux for the second-most in NHL history. Only Pavel Bure (seven) has more. 

THREE DOWN

Brandon Carlo: It was a rough night in the D-zone for Carlo, who was tagged for a couple of miscues that led to Toronto tallies. On Auston Matthews’ first goal of the evening, Carlo was simply out-muscled by 5-foot-11 Michael Bunting along the end boards, allowing the forward to set up Matthews for the opening strike.  And in the second period, Carlo took a bad angle during William Nylander’s rush around the B’s net, opening up a passing lane that led to another Matthews’ goal. 

Power play: Even if the Bruins’ man advantage has been up-and-down at times this season, a meeting against a Leafs team with sub-standard goaltending and a very weak PK unit seemed like the perfect matchup for Boston to do some damage. But be it shoddy execution, a lack of urgency or a simple failure to land shots on net, the Bruins failed to generate much of anything on the power play — landing one shot in over 4:21 of 5v4 play.

David Pastrnak: Pastrnak has been an offensive juggernaut for the B’s all season long, but he — like many of Boston’s forwards — just seemed off in this one. The Bruins’ top scorer was gifted a Grade-A chance in the first off of a slick feed from Hampus Lindholm but fumbled the shot attempt, and was later knocked for pulling up in the offensive zone after thinking that a penalty was going to be called against the Leafs in the third period. Yes, perhaps Pastrnak had good reason to question why there was no call there — but you need to play until you hear the whistle. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head back to TD Garden for a two-game homestand — starting on Monday with a matchup against Torey Krug and the Blues. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.