The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet for the first time this season Saturday night in Toronto. This is the first game between the two teams since last year’s seven-game playoff series. Toronto and Boston meet again back at the TD Garden on Tuesday.
The Bruins and Maple Leafs have enjoyed quite the rivalry this decade, thanks in part to three playoff series. Over that span, we’ve seen plenty of moments that certainly will stand the test of time.
Honorable mention: Adam McQuaid squares off with Matt Martin
If you look back on recent history, 2017 is an important year for the Leafs. This was the first season of the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner era.
The era got off to a great start, as Toronto defeated Boston in all four regular season matchups. Toronto even made the playoffs for the first time in years.
Although the Bruins lost every game against Toronto, there are some moments that stand out. One moment is the fight between Adam McQuaid and Matt Martin.
The Leafs originally signed Martin to provide them with the size and toughness to combat bigger teams like Boston. He didn’t really pan out in Toronto, but he represented a change in identity for a young Leafs team.
Martin was a formidable opponent, but he ultimately was no match for McQuaid.
This fight looked relatively meaningless at the time, but looking back, it seems to mean much more. It represented a sort of turning point in the Bruins-Leafs rivalry.
The McQuaid-Martin bout was a sign of things to come for the Bruins and Leafs. It showed how these two teams were destined to square off in big games against each other in the coming years.