Share this Story: Maple Leafs avenge past flops in Boston with solid Game 1 win Maple Leafs avenge past flops in Boston with solid Game 1 win Article content BOSTON — So many times here the past few years, the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes have been drowned out amid the roar of the big bad Bruins and their crowd. But you could’ve heard a bean drop on Thursday night as Toronto took a major step toward reversing its post-season curse here with a 4-1 win. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Maple Leafs avenge past flops in Boston with solid Game 1 win Back to video With a two-goal night from Mitch Marner — one on a rare short-handed penalty shot — 37 saves from Frederik Andersen, speed through its lineup and some spunk from the fourth line, the Leafs triumphed on opening night in a playoff series for the first time since 2003. And yet it all could’ve gone south so quickly after an early William Nylander penalty led to old nemesis Patrice Bergeron scoring the opening goal to set TD Garden alight, and Kasperi Kapenen going to the box after Marner had tied it 1-1. That’s when Marner was taken down by Jake DeBrusk on a shorthanded breakaway and was awarded the penalty shot. After a long pause to think about his chance, Marner came down the ice with a demonstration of patience and puckhandling, going side-to-side 11 times in all, eight in the slot and once in the blue paint as he undressed a mesmerized Tuukka Rask. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “I kind of had an idea of what I was going to do and, at the last second, I kind of switched it up seeing his position,” Marner said. “I was lucky enough to get it by him.” It was only the fourth playoff penalty shot attempted by a Leaf and the first goal since Mats Sundin beat Dominik Hasek in the 1999 Eastern Conference final. Marner, Tavares and Zach Hyman also kept Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak off the board at even strength, just as vital a contribution with Boston having the last line change. Tavares won 16 of Toronto’s 32 draws, one leading to Marner’s first goal off a Jake Muzzin rebound. “This does a lot for our confidence,” Marner said. “We played well, but through this series, it’s going to get harder and harder.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content More On This Topic SIMMONS: Tavares proved his worth to Leafs, and then some, in Game 1 Andersen's calm, effective play a major factor in Game 1 victory SIMMONS: Total team effort in impressive Leafs win This was double the goals the Leafs managed in Game 1 of their two previous series here when they gave up nine. It was also redemption for Andersen certainly, his best saves coming with Boston still on a man advantage after Marner’s goal and then in the third as coach Bruce Cassidy changed lines in desperation, trying to find a spark. “I thought (Andersen) was steady, the guys did a good job in front of him,” said Toronto coach Mike Babcock. Nylander atoned for his penalty with a breakaway goal on a great breakout pass by Nazem Kadri to make it 3-1. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content With three days of practice to get ready after a flat second half to the regular schedule, and three losses last week, Babcock had forecasted a better showing by some of his struggling players, agreeing his team must know the Bruins’ top guns only too well by now. “I think we’re one of the fastest teams in the league and that’s going to be a problem for other teams to defend,” Kadri said. “It’s something we have to take advantage of every single game and get on top of their guys. That’s how you force mistakes and it allows us to play with the puck more. “It was a great for us, but that said, it’s only one game, this isn’t over. Scoring short-handed at that time of the game, it always takes the wind out of a team’s sails.” Nylander’s struggles this year have been written ad nauseum, but he’s now scored back-to-back, counting the regular season finale in Montreal. Also in that eventful second period, Auston Matthews hit the post after clearly beating Rask, Tavares was stopped on a breakaway and Andreas Johnsson was thwarted on an odd-man rush at the horn. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content And what was that season-long fuss about getting home ice advantage? Toronto just got a huge chunk of it back. “We battled all night, a couple of big goals, faceoff plays, guys getting to the net, competing hard, lots of lines had lost of opportunities,” noted Matthews. “That was a great move by Mitch, he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.” The TD Garden pre-game video of great Bruins playoff moments ended with Bergeron’s overtime goal to eliminate the Leafs in that Causeway St. Collapse of 2013. And it was Bergeron opening the scoring on the power play with Nylander clipping Brandon Carlo after a hard hit. The Leafs survived a couple of other hiccups, with Nikita Zaitsev breaking up a 2-on-1 when Muzzin’s shot was blocked up ice and Andersen snagging a slot backhander by Danton Heinen, preventing Boston from taking a 2-0 lead. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Tavares, who also scored an empty-netter in his playoff debut for the Leafs, now has 24 points in 25 playoff games. “I think they’ve got some quickness, too, and I think we can play with some tenacity and play in your face just by going out there and competing hard,” Tavares reasoned before the game. “Just by trying to establish what we want to do and obviously playing with the puck and making them have to defend and creating opportunities off of that.” Toronto’s third and fourth lines, with a chance to be difference-makers in this series, did their part. Their ranks included Trevor Moore with some big hits and scoring chances. Tavares also noted the Bruins’ comfort level at home, though for him it wasn’t as bad as the two rude receptions he’s had on Long Island this season. He had a huge role against Bergeron. “They’ve got a lot of continuity and chemistry, they’ve been together for a long time,” Tavares noted. “They really understand each other’s game really well. So, the best you can do is to limit those opportunities, make them really have to work for them. The more they have to play without the puck and have to work to get it back, it makes it a lot more difficult for them to create opportunities and have the energy and time to be in your zone doing what they can do.” “We want to go out there, get after them, push back and create opportunities ourselves.” lhornby@postmedia.com We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Toronto Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails.<doc-sep>They said the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t hold a lead. They did. They said the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t play a full 60 minutes of hockey. They did. They said the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t beat the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. They did. On the backs of Mitch Marner’s two goals, William Nylander with a third, and Frederik Andersen’s incredible 37-save effort, the Maple Leafs took game one of their first-round series over the Bruins 4-1. First Period It wasn’t a great start for the Leafs, who were forced to battle in their own zone for much of the first two minutes. Despite all the zone time for the Bruins, they were only able to get off a long shot on Frederik Andersen by Marcus Johansson during a Leafs line change. Surprisingly, once the fourth line got on the ice following the Nazem Kadri line, they were able to play in the offensive zone for a shift. A highlight of that minute was when Connor Brown fell onto Tuukka Rask, knocking him down. I can finally see why Babcock likes him. Within the first five minutes, the Leafs had three shots to the Bruins’ two. Two of those Leafs shots came off from Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Both former Marlies wingers forced Rask to make awkward saves with his pads. On the other side, Freddy Andersen was looking cool as a cucumber with his positioning and movements. 0-1 Nine minutes into the game, William Nylander took the first penalty of the series. He was skating into the offensive zone trying to hold the puck while waiting for teammates, but he got overwhelmed by multiple Bruins and took a high-sticking penalty while trying to retrieve the puck from Connor Clifton . 30 seconds into the power play, Brad Marchand faked a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle and was able to find a seam to Bergeron at the side of the net. Once the puck got through, it was a gimme goal for the Bruins. Ron Hainsey was the closest player in the area of Bergeron, but I would say it was a combination of Brown letting Marchand get inside him, and Kapanen jumping in the wrong direction with his stick. Kapanen was looking at Torey Krug at the point but he was essentially out of the play while Bergeron was able to sneak behind him and into a clear passing lane. 1-1 “COME ON MARNER YEAHH!!!! !” Mitchell Marner tied the game with less than five minutes to go in the first period off a wonky rebound from a Jake Muzzin point shot. Mitch was bursting for the rebound from the wing and loosed as heavy of a slap shot as he could muster in order to get the puck through Rask and in. Both Zach Hyman and John Tavares were planted in front of the net, but the puck didn’t go off them before bouncing off Rask and onto Marner’s stick. It was a great play from Marner. He was quick in reaction to the rebound coming to the soft side and gave it all to get power on the shot. Plays like this are why we love Mitch and especially love him in the playoffs. More of that and we beat Boston. After One All things considered, the first period against Boston should be very encouraging to Leafs fans. They out-attempted the Bruins 19-9 at 5v5. Yes, they more than doubled them. They also had more shots (10-7) and more scoring chances by a mile (11-3). It was a great period and playing more like that should have the Leafs win more games than not. given the environment, and the opponent, that was probably one of the best periods the leafs have played in 2019 — dom luszczyszyn (@domluszczyszyn) April 11, 2019 Qualitatively, it was a tenacious period for the Leafs. First and foremost, the emotion and desperation in Marner on his goal was great and should be an example to the rest of the team in terms of how they should play. That’s not to say the Leafs weren’t playing like that before. The fourth line was playing very well considering their role. Brown hit both Rask and Johansson, and was generally a very annoying person to play against. Same goes for Trevor Moore, who continued to murder every stereotype against short players. The guy is a beast, end of conversation. And I was really happy to not have noticed Frederik Gauthier one bit. Hyman was dogged in his determination all period, tripping over himself more than a few times but still finding ways to get where he needed to be. Patrick Marleau is very limited in what he can do at his age, but he was still able to show flashes of that game-breaking speed and ability to finish off the rush, an encouraging sign. Finally, Matthews had a moment of brilliance right after the Bergeron goal on top of out-shooting the Bruins by five in the first period. Oh, and Nikita Zaitsev may have had the best period of his life. He stopped a 2-on-1, made some great plays along the boards, and only iced the puck maybe once or twice at the most! Second Period 2-1 Right at the start of the second, Kapanen got caught high-sticking Jake DeBrusk in the shoulder, sending the Leafs to the penalty kill. On the kill, DeBrusk tried to make a pass with his stick between his legs, but whiffed on it and gave up a breakaway for Marner. As Marner was poised to shoot, DeBrusk hauled Marner down and into Rask. Marner got a penalty shot and scored on a sweet dangle. Here's the trip that lead to the call. pic.twitter.com/BWyeAHZsE7 — Flintor (@TheFlintor) April 12, 2019 The Leafs were generally out-shot in the first half of the second, but Andersen was as solid as a brick wall against everything the Bruins threw at him. Going the other way, the Leafs didn’t get a high quantity of chances, but they made up for it with a couple really great chances created only through shear talent. Example, Auston Matthews: matthews comes off the bench and rings one off the post pic.twitter.com/kWey5JN0iu — dylan (@DylanFremlin) April 12, 2019 As the second started to wind down, the Bruins started to get sloppy and the Leafs took advantage. 3-1 With less than two minutes left in the period, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander woke up from a relatively quiet first half of the game and connected for a beautiful goal. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk jumped in too deep with the Bruins third line and got caught as Hainsey and Marleau were able to retrieve the puck in the corner. Once Kadri got the puck into space, Nylander saw an acre of space in front of him because the two Bruins that were back got caught on the wrong side of the ice and went for it. Kadri had to thread the puck through three Bruins players, but once he did, Nylander was left all alone to snipe on Rask on the breakaway. John Tavares had his own chance at a breakaway goal with less than a minute left in the period, but he was stopped trying to go blocker on Rask. Tavares knows not to go up 4-1, veteran leader. — Shane (@shanessm) April 12, 2019 After Two The Bruins definitely applied the pressure on the Leafs in the second period. In terms of shot attempts (18-30), the Bruins had a better second period than the Leafs had in the first in terms of volume. But despite appearing to be playing on their heels, the Leafs scored the only two goals of the period and were still able to keep the 5v5 shots (12-18) and scoring chances (10-16) within arms reach. I liked what I saw from Hainsey, Zaitsev, and Muzzin in their own zones. They didn’t let the Bruins skate around them and were tough in stopping battles along the boards. Yes, it’s always better to not have to be in your own zone, but at least while they were there they were effective. Okay, I lied, Naz is never quiet.<doc-sep>Hours after joking about his continued inability to grow a playoff beard, Mitch Marner stepped up like a hardened post-season performer. At this point, it shouldn't come as a surprise. The slick winger scored twice, including on a short-handed penalty shot to give his team a lead it would never surrender, as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Thursday to grab a 1-0 advantage in their best-of-seven first-round series. Marner paced the Leafs with nine points in their seven-game exit at the hands of the Bruins at this stage some 12 months ago, and once again demonstrated an uncanny ability to step up in big moments. WATCH | Marner shines as Leafs take Game 1 in Boston: Game Wrap: Marner shines as Leafs take Game 1 in Boston Sports 2:11 Mitch Marner scored twice, including the game winner, as Toronto beat the Bruins 4-1 on Thursday. 2:11 "We're a fast team," said Marner, who pointed to Toronto's confidence as a difference this time around against Boston. "When we play right, it's hard to stop us." The 21-year-old got the Leafs back to even after the Bruins pulled ahead in the first period before connecting on his penalty shot with a ridiculous move on Tuukka Rask. "He's one of our special players," said Toronto defenceman Jake Muzzin, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings. "He reads the play so well. He's almost one step ahead, to be honest." "[Marner's] an elite player in the league at a young age," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy added. "He's always played well against us, always played hard against us." Marner, who said prior to the game the peach fuzz growing on his face "gets heavier now," not only lead the offensive charge, but along with John Tavares and Zach Hyman, kept Boston's big line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak — which combined for 30 points against Toronto last spring — in check at 5 on 5. "We just wanted to stay above them," Marner said. "We wanted to make it hard on them getting to our blue line and getting it in. Muzzy and [defence partner Nikita] Zaitsev did a great job as well." William Nylander and Tavares, into an empty net, had the other goals for Toronto, which got 37 saves from a calm and collected Frederik Andersen. Tavares assisted on Marner's first goal. Bergeron replied for Boston, while Rask stopped 29 shots as the Leafs won a Game 1 for the first time since April 9, 2003, against the Philadelphia Flyers. "A big road win for us," Toronto centre Auston Matthews said. "We really kept our composure." Game 2 goes Saturday at TD Garden ahead of the series shifting to Scotiabank Arena on Monday and Wednesday. "Still six games left here to get the job done," Marchand said. "We have to be better." WATCH | Marner converts historic penalty shot: Hip Check: Patience, poise and a historic Mitch Marner penalty shot Sports 1:00 Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner scored an impressive short-handed penalty shot goal against the Boston Bruins in Game 1, the first goal of its kind in Leafs franchise playoff history. 1:00 Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes and with his team down a man, Marner moved to his forehand on the penalty shot for his second goal of the night at 2:47 of the second after getting brought down on a breakaway by Jake DeBrusk. "I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do," said Marner, who scored Toronto's first penalty shot in the playoffs since Mats Sundin in 1999. "Last second I switched it up just seeing where he was and seeing his position." Boston pushed in the third, but Andersen and the Leafs held their nerve until Tavares iced it into an empty net for Toronto's first victory in a Game 1 in 5,846 days — when Marner was five years old. "[Marner's] just matured," said Kadri, who along with defenceman Gardiner are the only two players still on Toronto's roster from the team's epic third-period collapse in Game 7 against Boston back in 2013. "Mitchie's got that confidence level to pretty much shake anything off, move forward and look to the future."<doc-sep>
BOSTON — Hours after joking about his continued inability to grow a playoff beard, Mitch Marner stepped up like a hardened post-season performer. At this point, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The slick winger scored twice, including on a short-handed penalty shot to give his team a lead it would never surrender, as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Thursday to grab a 1-0 advantage in their best-of-seven first-round series. Marner paced the Leafs with nine points in their seven-game exit at the hands of the Bruins at this stage some 12 months ago, and once again demonstrated an uncanny ability to step up in big moments. "We’re a fast team," said Marner, who pointed to Toronto’s confidence as a difference this time around against Boston. "When we play right, it’s hard to stop us." The 21-year-old got the Leafs back to even after the Bruins pulled ahead in the first period before connecting on his penalty shot with a ridiculous move on Tuukka Rask. "He’s one of our special players," said Toronto defenceman Jake Muzzin, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings. "He reads the play so well. He’s almost one step ahead, to be honest." "[Marner’s] an elite player in the league at a young age," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy added. "He’s always played well against us, always played hard against us." Marner, who said prior to the game the peach fuzz growing on his face "gets heavier now," not only lead the offensive charge, but along with John Tavares and Zach Hyman, kept Boston’s big line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak — which combined for 30 points against Toronto last spring — in check at 5 on 5. "We just wanted to stay above them," Marner said. "We wanted to make it hard on them getting to our blue line and getting it in. Muzzy and [defence partner Nikita] Zaitsev did a great job as well." William Nylander and Tavares, into an empty net, had the other goals for Toronto, which got 37 saves from a calm and collected Frederik Andersen. Tavares assisted on Marner’s first goal. Bergeron replied for Boston, while Rask stopped 29 shots as the Leafs won a Game 1 for the first time since April 9, 2003, against the Philadelphia Flyers. "A big road win for us," Toronto centre Auston Matthews said. "We really kept our composure." Game 2 goes Saturday at TD Garden ahead of the series shifting to Scotiabank Arena on Monday and Wednesday. "Still six games left here to get the job done," Marchand said. "We have to be better." Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes and with his team down a man, Marner moved to his forehand on the penalty shot for his second goal of the night at 2:47 of the second after getting brought down on a breakaway by Jake DeBrusk. "I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do," said Marner, who scored Toronto’s first penalty shot in the playoffs since Mats Sundin in 1999. "Last second I switched it up just seeing where he was and seeing his position." Boston nearly tied it moments later, but Andersen stopped Charlie Coyle before the Bruins centre rang a shot off the post. Matthews then found iron at the other end, but the visitors went up 3-1 with 1:35 left in the second when Nylander fired between Rask’s pads on another break after taking a terrific tape-to-tape stretch pass from Nazem Kadri. Boston pushed in the third, but Andersen and the Leafs held their nerve until Tavares iced it into an empty net for Toronto’s first victory in a Game 1 in 5,846 days — when Marner was five years old. The Bruins went ahead on a power play at 9:31 of the first when Marchand used a subtle delay in the offensive zone before sliding a pass through the seam to Bergeron, who had a wide-open net as the Leafs’ penalty killers were caught puck-watching. Andersen, who had a save percentage of just .896 in last year’s first round and an .881 mark over his final 10 games of 2018-19, made a big glove stop on Danton Heinen later in the period after Jake Gardiner turned the puck over in front of his own net to set the table for Marner’s equalizer.