Bruins Notes: Boston Pulls Out Gutsy Road Win, Regains Series Lead
The Boston Bruins came through with a gutsy come-from-behind 4-2 win at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night to take the 2-1 series lead against the Maple Leafs.
“I just thought our 50-50 effort and our puck support was dramatically better,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told Andy Brickley on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Even though we made some mistakes and it was sloppy at times, the hustle and work ethic allowed us to mitigate those mistakes.”
An entertaining, fast-paced third period showcased four total goals by the two Original Six franchises, but it was two from Brad Marchand that were the difference makers in Boston’s win.
“I can’t say enough about the leadership by our captain tonight,” Montgomery said.
Bruins forward Charlie Coyle, who earned an assist on Jake DeBrusk’s power-play goal in the third period, echoed Montgomery’s thoughts on Marchand and how his play set the tone for the team.
“Every way possible,” Coyle told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “His play, that’s one. Chipping in score-wise, but battling, just not backing down and his leadership on the bench to the way he talks and keeps us engaged in what we need to do in that given situation, whenever it calls for, he’s always on top of that.
“So, it goes beyond just play on the ice which was exceptional tonight. It’s on the bench, in the locker room and it’s all around leadership and character.”
One of Marchand’s goals was on the power play, another area in which the Bruins excelled over the Leafs in the matchup.
Boston was 2-for-3 on the man advantage and held Toronto scoreless on five shorthanded situations.
“Special teams can be a big factor in these games and sway momentum pretty good,” Coyle said. “If you dial in on that and get the job done and execute, it can be huge for you and it can sway momentum and dampen theirs.”
Here are more notes from Wednesday night’s Bruins-Maple Leafs game:
— Marchand’s two goals brought his career postseason total to 55 and tied him with Cam Neely for the most playoff goals in franchise history. Marchand took over sole possession of the most game-winning goals in Bruins playoff history with the 12th of his career. He passed Neely who had 11.
— Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for Boston for his second win of the series. In the last two seasons against the Leafs, Swayman is 6-0-0 with a 1.31 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage, per Sportsnet Stats.
— DeBrusk scored his third power-play goal of the series. He now has nine goals and five assists in 17 postseason games against the Leafs.
DeBrusk also had seven hits in 17:08 minutes of ice time, including 3:01 shorthanded.
“Oh yeah, wow, no wonder why I’m bagged,” DeBrusk told Adam Pellerin, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s a collective effort. Your best penalty killer is your goalie, and Sway made some massive saves. … But, yeah, that makes a lot of sense; three minutes of PK time, I’m feeling that.”
— The Bruins will look to extend their series lead to two games when they face the Leafs in Game 4 on Saturday. Puck drop from Scotiabank Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action, plus 30 minutes of pregame coverage, on NESN.