Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederic had the other goals for Boston.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The Bruins got 28 stops from Jeremy Swayman, who made 35 saves in his team's 5-1 victory in Game 1 before giving way to crease counterpart Linus Ullmark in the Leafs' 3-2 triumph two nights later.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthew Knies replied for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves.
Boston Bruins' Trent Frederic (11) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with Hampus Lindholm (27) and Brad Marchand (63) during second period action in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Toronto on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Game 4 of the best-of-seven matchup goes Saturday back at Scotiabank Arena. Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Boston.
Leafs winger William Nylander took line rushes at the morning skate, but missed a third straight contest - the Swede played all 82 in the regular season - with an undisclosed injury.
Moments after the Leafs tied things 2-2 to send Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy and then nearly took the lead off a Swayman turnover, Marchard took a pass from Danton Heinen and ripped a shot past Samsonov's ear at 11:53 of the third.
Toronto pulled Samsonov for the extra attacker with just over two minutes to go in regulation, but Leafs captain John Tavares took a holding penalty with 64 seconds left before Marchand sealed it into the empty net.
Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, DeBrusk bagged his third goal in as many games when he scored on a man advantage 67 seconds after the restart off a Marchand rebound when the Leafs lost structure on their struggling penalty kill.
Boston Bruins' Jake DeBrusk (74) scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) during third period action in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Toronto on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Toronto's power play came over the boards a few minutes later, but couldn't connect despite a couple of great chances for Bertuzzi, slipping to 0-for-5 on the night and 1-for-11 in the series.
Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk hit the post on a partial break midway through the period before Bertuzzi tipped a Morgan Rielly shot off Boston defenceman Hampus Lindholm to tie the game 2-2.
Marchand - Boston's captain seemingly always in the thick of things at this time of year - responded just 28 seconds later to give his team a lead it would never surrender to re-establish home-ice advantage.
The Leafs opened the scoring at 13:10 of the second when the under-fire Mitch Marner - without a point through two games and the subject of intense media scrutiny - deftly moved past a defender and slid a pass for Knies to redirect upstairs on Swayman.
Samsonov stopped van Riemsdyk on a partial breakaway moments later, but the Bruins tied it at 17:37 when Frederic fired his second goal of the series in off the post on a shot the netminder will want back.
The play unfolded as Marchand and Bertuzzi got tangled up in the neutral zone, and moments after, Leafs star Auston Matthews was tackled behind Boston's net by Charlie McAvoy.
Toronto, which fell to Boston in seven games to open the 2013, 2018 and 2019 playoffs, was buzzing around the offensive zone on an early power play before the Bruins had the best chance on a short-handed Pavel Zacha breakaway that Samsonov turned aside.
Toronto defenceman Joel Edmundson made a crucial block with his goaltender out of position later in the first period on a David Pastrnak opportunity.
The Leafs had another fruitless power play before Tavares ripped a shot off the crossbar.
Toronto winger Max Domi then created a turnover behind the Boston net and nearly capitalized, but Swayman was there.
The home side brought some physicality as the period wound down, with Simon Benoit, David Kampf and Ryan Reaves throwing their weight around to raucous approval.
Matthews hit the post early in the second and had another chance on a Marner power-play setup. Samsonov then denied Pat Maroon at the other end before the teams finally broke through.
Famliar Surroundings
Van Riemsdyk, who was a healthy scratch for the first two games, suited up in a building he called home for six seasons with the Leafs from 2012-13 through 2017-18.
Schedule talk
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was asked about a playoff schedule that sees two days off on either side of Game 4.
“I would have rather been here Thursday/Saturday, if I'm being honest,” he said. “I think we're spending more time in Toronto than Toronto's spending in Boston.
“And we're the home team.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Macklem tries to stay out of the fray as MPs do their best to use him to score points
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem navigates a political minefield every time he testifies before the House of Commons finance committee.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.