It wasn’t the result the Toronto Maple Leafs or their fans hoped for heading into game one inside TD Garden, but it’s a seven-game series for a reason. You can’t lose the series after one game, but you can put yourself in a hole early on, and that’s what the Maple Leafs did on Saturday night due to some breakdowns.
If someone said this was going to be an easy series for Toronto, they either were way too optimistic about the Maple Leafs or said that to hide the pain of past playoff series against the Bruins’ because what game one proved to us on the weekend is TD Garden is still a house of horrors for Toronto.
But the good thing about hockey, or any sport for that matter, is you can quickly bounce back and get right back at it the next game. And for Toronto, that’s tonight as game two goes from TD Garden, with the Maple Leafs and their fans hoping this team can bounce back, grab the win, even up the series, and head home with a split before game three and four get underway at Scotiabank Arena.
Although the scoreboard suggested Toronto got smacked 5-1, including an empty netter, I thought they played a fine game. But the breakdowns in their zone and the neutral zone didn’t help them out, and it benefited Boston, as they scored the bulk of their goals due to missed assignments. They need to address that in game two if they think they have a chance at winning.
Another reason people may suggest as to why Toronto lost game one was due to the absence of both Bobby McMann and William Nylander. Losing two of your top nine forwards isn’t a good recipe for any team in the playoffs, especially Nylander, who recorded his second consecutive 40-goal season and set a career-high in points with 98. But as game two gets closer and closer, his status for tonight remains up in the air after skating for the first time yesterday and today since game 82 against the Lightning.
If Nylander can’t dress, everyone has to bring their efforts to another level, including Auston Matthews and his line, who all received a minor penalty in game one, allowing the Bruins to score on two of them in the second period. Matthews hasn’t scored since game 80 against Detroit, and although he has had chances, he needs a game to dominate.
You can read more about how game two is the game for Matthews to showcase his dominance in tonight’s game two preview here, by Arun Srinivasan.
Pregame details:
Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup:
Tyler Bertuzzi – Auston Matthews – Max Domi
Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Nick Robertson – Pontus Holmberg – Calle Jarnkrok
Connor Dewar – David Kampf – Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly – Ilya Lyubushkin
Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe
Joel Edmundson – Timothy Liljegren
Boston Bruins’ lineup:
Danton Heinen – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk
Jakub Lauko – Morgan Geekie – Trent Frederic
John Beecher – Jesper Boqvist – Pat Maroon
Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo
Kevin Shattenkirk – Andrew Peeke
Projected goalies:
Ilya Samsonov (TOR) vs Jeremy Swayman (BOS)
After getting the nod in game one and allowing four goals on 24 shots, following 11 goals on 52 shots in his last two regular-season games, Ilya Samsonov is the projected starting goalie in game two tonight based on his routine this morning.
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