BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Maple Leafs 2 - Boston responds in big way heading into All-Star break

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, with BSJ insight and analysis…

BOX SCORE 

HEADLINES

Bruins respond in a big way heading into the break: The Bruins ended their first losing streak of the season, a three-game skid, with a 5-2 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star break.

Pavel Zacha scored twice, and Charlie Coyle had two assists as 12 different skaters recorded a point for Boston (39-7-5). Linus Ullmark made 33 saves.

Mitchell Marner and Calle Jarnkrok scored for Toronto (31-13-8), and Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves in his seventh straight start. 

Derek Forbort opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the second period. Frederic won a battle for the puck on the forecheck before Coyle found Forbort streaking in. 

Marner tied it on a separate Leafs’ power play just over three minutes later, taking a stretch pass from Samsonov to catch the Bruins in the middle of a change and scoring on the rush.

Brandon Carlo answered with his first goal in 20 games and second of the season to make it 2-1, chipping it through Samsonov after Boston set up shop in the attacking zone.

A.J. Greer extended it to 3-1 with a shot under the bar from the left circle on the rush 2:13 into the third. Jakub Lauko started the transition with a strong play along the boards in the defensive zone. Jarnkrok took advantage of a Toronto surge, cutting it to 3-2.

Zacha responded during a 4-on-4 just 30 seconds later with a laser to the top right corner to make it 4-2. He extended it to 5-2 moments later on a one-timer in close off a feed from David Krejci after David Pastrnak bumped Rasmus Sandin off the puck.

FOUR UP

Pavel Zacha: Zacha was critical to Boston in snuffing out a big push from Toronto after Greer’s goal. He took over in the offensive zone, eventually making a nice move and scoring on a dart for his first goal, and he got in position to capitalize on Krejci’s feed to add some needed insurance.

Linus Ullmark: Both goaltenders were on it early for their teams, but it was Ullmark who remained strong for the entirety of the night. He stopped all six high-danger scoring chances thrown his way in a back-and-forth first period, going on to turn aside nine of 10 on the game as a whole, per Natural Stat Trick

Brandon Carlo: The rangy defenseman had been in quite a slump over the last week, but he responded with a strong outing tonight. His goal wasn’t the prettiest, but it was a timely response to Marner’s equalizer. He was solid defensively once again, and topped it off with a plus-three rating after three straight minus-two outings. 

Jakub Lauko: The Czech winger had a solid return to the lineup after not playing an NHL game since the beginning of November. He had a good jump to his game, and made a smart play along the boards to shield from Timothy Liljegren’s pinch and get the puck to Greer en route to his goal. 

TWO DOWN

Special teams: Boston only received one power play opportunity on the night, but it looked disjointed once again as the top unit tried to force plays that weren’t there. The penalty kill was 1-for-2, but a heads-up play by Samsonov caught them in the middle of a sluggish change, leading to Marner’s goal on the quick rush. 

A.J. Greer's fight: On the ensuing face-off after his goal, Greer dropped the gloves with veteran Wayne Simmonds, who earned the victory in the scrap. Greer owed Simmonds nothing in that situation, and had no obligation to fight. Toronto took momentum out of it, making a big push in the middle of the third, but Boston managed to weather it before Zacha's goals. Greer also had to go to the locker room for a period of time, presumably because of the concussion spotters. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Zacha’s first goal was a masterclass of possession and rotation during a 4-on-4. He took full advantage of the extra space, showing off some patience before getting the puck back in the rotation at the point. It helps with a perfect shot like that, too. 

LOOSE PUCKS

With his assist on Forbort’s goal, Frederic set a new career-high in points (19) after previously setting one in goals (10) earlier this season. 

It would have been something if Pastrnak had capitalized on this chance in the first period. The puck wouldn’t cooperate with him, though.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins head into the All-Star break as well as their bye week as part of a 10-day break. They return to action on Saturday, Feb. 11, in a 3:30 p.m. matinee against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden.