Toronto Maple Leafs Visit The Boston Bruins For The First Time Since “The Comeback”
By Matt Zampini
May 13, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) reacts to a goal scored by Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (not pictured) to tie the game during the third period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The last time the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs faced off at TD Garden will go down as one of the best comebacks in sports history, as the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit in the third period and eventually defeated the Leafs in overtime to advance to the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
Over the offseason, Toronto added Dave Bolland to their offensive repertoire. Bolland scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals with less than a minute remaining to give the Chicago Blackhawks their second cup in four years.
The Bruins, of course, sent Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley to Dallas, Nathan Horton moved to Columbus and Andrew Ference is now in Edmonton. There will be a few new players to this matchup of two Original Six, division rivals, but that still will not determine the importance of this matchup for both teams.
The Leafs and Bruins have both played 15 games this season and Toronto sits one point above Boston in the Atlantic Division.
Boston comes into the matchup against the Leafs after defeating the Florida Panthers on Thursday 4-1. It was the first time in a few games that the Bruins played a full 60-minutes and came out with a victory. Brad Marchand has had his struggles to start the season but he was able to score his second goal of the season on Thursday night.
Toronto will play the New Jersey Devils on Friday night and then will have to travel to Boston to take on the Bruins in back-to-back days. Ex-Bruin Phil Kessel leads the Leafs with 18 points this season, recording nine goals and nine assists.
This is the third game of the Bruins five game home stand and the puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 p.m. in Boston.