Tag: Toronto Maple Leafs

Whew. The Bruins pull that series out by the skin of their teeth. Game notes:

– Swayman was out of his mind this series. Easily the MVP of the series. Without him, we never would’ve won that series and need him to continue his great play.

– Carelessness from the Bruins continued today. They still don’t look completely focused and like they have their composure. Mind boggling turnover continue to plague this team. They got to get it together.

– Lindholm played so good. Getting such a quick goal in response to the Leafs scoring was super important and swung the momentum back for us. It feels good to see Pasta get the game winner and hopefully he keeps the momentum going.

– The Bruins have a lot of shit to work on and need to play a lot better next series. The Panthers are great team and are much more rested. Time for some revenge after the tough defeat last year.

LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUINS!!!

Now, it’s time to be worried. The Bruins are in danger of repeating what they did last year by blowing a 3-1 lead. We have tormented the Leafs for years and now we’ve given them hope that they can turn the tables on us. Game notes below:

– Another slow start for the Bruins as they were outshot 12-1 in the first. If not for Swayman playing so well, these past two games could have been much more lopsided.

– The Bruins continue to not finish scoring chances late in the game. There were a couple golden opportunities to tie the game at 1 in the third and they just couldn’t put the puck home.

– McAvoy was way too aggressive on that last Leaf’s goal. He made a terrible step up that led to Nylander getting a breakaway. It’s another example of how the Bruins need to be more composed and keep their heads.

– Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, called Pasta out for not playing better. Hopefully, this lights a fire under him and he plays his ass off Game 7.

“Game 7. Anything can happen.” – Kevin Millar, former Red Sox first baseman. It’s one of the truest quotes in sports history. You absolutely never know what’s gonna happen in these winner take all games. The Leafs have the momentum and Matthews might be returning. But the Bruins are back at home and know they can’t blow this series lead, especially after last year. Let’s just hope they get it together and win.

This was a game the Bruins did not deserve to win, but nonetheless, had plenty of chances to win. Below are my game notes:

– They were absolutely terrible in the first period and the first ten minutes of the 2nd period. They got outplayed, could not get anything going, and were lucky that Swayman played amazing last night to keep them in the game.

– Even though they improved their play the last half of the game, some common errors kept happening. They could not break the puck out and their composure was awful all night. They had so many in-zone turnovers that led to scoring chances and it looked like they couldn’t make a clean pass all night. They were dominated on faceoffs too.

– This is giving me echos of last year. The Bruins were up 3-1, then lost game 5 in OT at home and went on to lose the series.

– It would be one thing to simply lose the game. It’s hockey, that is going to happen. But the fact that the Maple Leafs – without Austin Matthews – outplayed them and the Bruins didn’t look like they came to play is a bad sign. The OT goal is a perfect example of that. Two Bruins forwards took a terrible change while the Leafs were on a rush, leaving the Bruins with three guys in the Dzone. Grzelcyk was playing Tavares, while McAvoy and Coyle were simply watching the puck instead of covering a guy. Tavares got the puck out front and McAvoy and Coyle weren’t in position and there was no backchecking forward there to cover Knies either and he got an easy rebound goal. That simply can’t happen in the playoffs.

– Despite their bad play, the Bruins still had multiple chances to win the game but were either stopped by Woll (who played great) or missed the net. Those are pucks they need to put home if they want to win the Cup.

– Now they have to go back to Toronto and try to win there, lest we have a Game 7. It’s time to put this game to rest and focus on Game 6.

The NHL postseason is in full swing and the Bruins – Maple Leafs series has been great so far. Takeaways from Game 3 and the series as a whole:

– I love that the Bruins have two great goalies they can play interchangeably. However, for the time being, Swayman should play unless he gets tired or stops playing so good.

– Auston Matthews is unbelievable. He’s one of those guys that scares you every time he touches the puck because he is so dangerous. He’s easily my favorite player to watch in the league, but watching him play my team in the playoffs may give me a heart attack.

– The Bruins have outplayed the Leafs so far and have done a lot of things well. One thing I’d like to see more of, is more big hits. While the Bruins have been physical, the Leafs have had some massive hits that helped swing momentum to their side. Big hits are one of the best things about playoff hockey and the Bruins need more of them.

– I’m a big fan of Charlie McAvoy, but he can frustrate me at times. He sometimes lacks awareness in the D Zone and is overly aggressive offensively yet it doesn’t often result in scoring goals for the Bruins. He’s our best defensemen and played well last night, but I’d like to see him play with some more discipline.

– The Bruins are relying on two young, unproven defensemen in Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon. In addition to having difficult last names to spell, they both made some costly turnovers that Swayman had to bail them out on. I hope they can get their composure together, because those types of mistakes can lose games.

– Lastly, I just want to say how great it is to have a guy like Brad Marchand on our team. Every other team and fan base in the league hates him and that makes us love him even more. The combination of grit, skill, and the ability to get under people’s skin is only matched by Matthew Tkachuk. Marchand has consistently performed great in the regular season and turns it to another level in the playoffs. He’s now tied for 1st in playoff goals and 2nd in playoff points in Bruins HISTORY. That is incredible, given how long the Bs have been around and all the great players we’ve had. He’s been great this series and we’ve been lucky to have him on our team the past 15 years. He’s a future Hall of Famer whether people want to admit it or not.

We recaptured home ice advantage which was huge. Now, we need to take complete control in Game 4. LETS GO BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUINS.