FINAL: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1 - Bruins get much needed win behind Zacha's two goals

The Bruins finally come out with a win defeating the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Monday night. What caught my eye in this game was that Boston came out to play right away in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Also, Pavel Zacha finished the night with two goals and the second one coming in the third period as a big insurance goal which made it 4-1.

 Also, Jeremy Swayman had a big game finishing the night with 32 saves in net. Whenever Toronto would make a push Swayman was there to answer for the Bruins. Boston has seemed to dominate the Maple Leafs whenever they play each other this season and will have another shot at beating them on Thursday back at TD Garden. 

Morgan Geekie and Jake DeBrusk also got in on the goal scoring action tonight for Boston. 

The big question for me now become how the Bruins will react on a back-to-back tomorrow night versus Edmonton. This will be a big test again versus another really good team. John Tavares scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs in the third period but the Bruins locked in after it to take control back of the game. 

The Bruins will be back in action on Tuesday night in a back-to-back when they host the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden at 7:30 p.m. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Zacha was big tonight scoring two goals with the second one being big insurance for Boston. This also came after he was a game-time decision pregame. 
• DeBrusk scored his first goal in six games tonight. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins move him before the trade deadline on Friday. 
• Big credit to Swayman tonight who made save after save and held Toronto whenever they tried to make a push. 
• I like how Boston came out to start the game tonight with energy which led to getting good shots off. 

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
3. Jeremy Swayman (32 saves)

2. David Pastrnak (Three assists)

1. Pavel Zacha (Two goals)

____________________________________

WHO: Bruins (35-13-14) at Maple Leafs (35-17-8)
WHEN: 7 p.m 
WHERE: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto.  
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE
ROSTERS

MAPLE LEAFS
Knies-Matthews-Marner
Bertuzzi-Domi-Nylander
McMann-Tavares-Jarnkrok
Holmberg-Kampf-Reaves
Brodie-Liljegren
Rielly-Lyubushkin
Benoit-McCabe
Woll
Samsonov

PREGAME NOTES
The Bruins conclude their quick two-game road trip Monday night north of the border in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs in an Original Six matchup at 7 p.m. Matt Grzelcyk will play in place of Derek Forbort while Pavel Zacha is a game-time decision. Justin Brazeau also returns to the lineup for Boston tonight. Jeremy Swayman gets the start in net for the Bruins. 

Boston faces a Toronto team that enters on a two-game winning streak most recently on Saturday night by a score of 4-3 in a shootout over the New York Rangers. Austin Matthews leads Toronto in goals on the season at 53 while William Nylander leads in points (83). The Maple Leafs own the second best power play in the NHL at 28.4% behind Tampa Bay. "They look a lot better,' Jim Montgomery told reporters. "They're playing offense, defense, special team, everything," Montgomery continued. Toronto sits in third place in the Atlantic Division only six points behind Boston.