The Boston Bruins took Game 2 due to yet another offensive explosion, as the series shifts to north of the border.
After 5 goals in Game 1, the Boston Bruins topped themselves in Game 2 as they scored 7 times. The offensive flurry was driven by the Patrice Bergeron line and Torey Krug as they combined for 17 points. 12 goals in 2 games have the Bruins in control of this series as both teams travel up to Toronto.
Period
In Game 1, the Bruins came out buzzing, and they did so again tonight. In an opening period completely dominated by the B’s, the first chance belonged to the Bruins, as Rick Nash burst behind the defense, but his shot went wide of the goal. Boston continued controlling the pace of play, and for the second game in a row, they opened the scoring.
A quick rush lead by Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins into the zone. The puck found its way over to Torey Krug at the left point, who tried a pass over to David Pastrnak but it was blocked by a Toronto defender. The puck bounced into the slot and somehow Pastrnak was able to settle the bouncing puck and slid the puck past Andersen after a slick twirl in front the crease to give the Bruins an early 1-0 advantage.
Boston continued controlling possession and during one of many spells of sustained pressure, the Maple Leafs had 6 skaters on the ice, and the B’s went on the powerplay. While down a man, the Leafs did manage a great scoring chance as Kasperi Kapanen had a shorthanded breakaway, but his effort was denied by the post. After Kapanen failed to tie the game, Boston went back on the attack on the powerplay and was able to convert due to Jake DeBrusk‘s tip-in, right on top of the crease, doubling the Bruins lead.
With Boston’s offense seemingly going nonstop, they added a third tally shortly after DeBrusk’s goal. Kevan Miller got separation down low and his pass deflected off a Maple Leaf defender, giving the B’s a 3-0 as Andersen’s night was over just 12 minutes into the contest. In came Curtis McElhinney and it didn’t get better for Toronto. Before the period ended, again on the powerplay, Boston would score. David Pastrnak’s initial point shot got saved by McElhinney, the rebound got picked up by Rick Nash who scored his first playoff goal as a Bruin, and Boston was up 4-0 after 20 minutes.
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Period 2
Toronto came out much more aggressive in the second frame, and that showed as the Leafs got on the board just 90 seconds into the period. Mitch Marner converted on a 2 on 1 rush after a David Krejci turnover at the offensive blue line. Krejci made up for his mistake a few minutes later as he tipped a David Pastrnak pass past McElhinney to restore the 4 goal lead.
Once the scoreboard read 5-1 Boston, the Maple Leafs had the better run of play for the majority of the frame. Midway through the period, the B’s couldn’t clear the zone and Tyler Bozak scored to cut the lead back to 3. As the period wore on, the Leafs tilted the ice in their favor and kept getting shots on goal. Tuukka Rask held strong and a couple strong saves by Rask kept the Leafs from finding a third, and both teams entered the locker rooms after 40 minutes, with Boston up 5-2.
Period 3
The Maple Leafs’ momentum carried over into the 3rd as they kept the puck in the Bruins zone and it appeared that they would grab the next goal. Especially considering Boston took 2 penalties early in the period, and the dangerous Toronto powerplay headed to the ice. The Bruins penalty kill units held their ground and kept Toronto at bay. Toronto turned the puck over at the red line, and Brad Marchand was in on a breakaway. His attempt was knocked away by a backchecking Jake Gardiner, but David Pastrnak collected the puck behind the goal, skated out in front and roofed the puck past McElhinney to basically seal the game.
Another goal for Pastrnak. 8 points through the first 2 playoff games pic.twitter.com/BCbPCf3T7v
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 15, 2018
On their third powerplay of the period, the Maple Leafs finally converted on one, as James Van Riemsdyk knocked the puck passed Rask from in tight. With under 2 minutes remaining and the result all but finished, David Pastrnak completed the hat trick with a dandy between the legs dangle to finish around McElhinney and the hats came raining down. Boston takes both games at TD Garden and are up 2-0 in the series.
Next: Bruins Practice Report: Nash skates, Wingels out
Short Shifts
- David Pastrnak is the youngest player in NHL history to score 6 points in a playoff game, surpassing the great Wayne Gretzky.
- The Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak line combined for 14 points, and 20 in the series.
- Even with a 3 goal lead, Tuukka Rask made some huge saves to stifle any Maple Leaf momentum as he kept them off of the scoreboard when they had the ice tilted in their favor.
- Kevan Ille was an absolute monster tonight, hitting everyone in sight. He led the team with 7 hits and crushed some Leaf players into the boards.
- Miller’s physical play was rewarded as he led the team in TOI with 23:25, a full minute above Chara who was 2nd most on the team.
- Back at again Monday night in Toronto.