Bruins Fall to Maple Leafs as Rivals Reunite in Toronto

TORONTO - Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak scored but the Bruins allowed four straight goals en route to a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena in the teams' first meeting in nearly two years. John Tavares and Auston Matthews notched two goals apiece with Matthews potting both on the power play in the second period to pace Toronto.
"We've got to create our identity where we're hard to play against for 60 minutes, not 20, 30, or 40, whatever it is," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "Got to be 60 and we weren't. You get into their type of game, don't want to say trading chances, but a little more transition. For us, I think we've got to play a little bit more puck possession in the O-zone, harder to play against in our end.
"Some easy goals for them tonight that they worked for, don't get me wrong. But I think we were soft on pucks when we needed to be harder. If you score five or six goals, those don't matter as much. But we didn't."

After falling behind, 4-1, just 2:53 into the third period on Tavares' second tally of the night, the Bruins put forth a strong push and pulled within two on Pastrnak's third of the year, a one-time blast off a feed from Brad Marchand at 8:29 of the final frame. Boston peppered Toronto goalie Jack Campbell from there on out, outshooting the Maple Leafs, 23-9, over the final 20 minutes, but was unable to pull any closer.
"I felt it was there in pockets," said Hall. "Obviously wasn't a full 60 of that way. That's kind of playing into their hands. They're a skilled team, they make plays off the rush, their D are active, and I think the counter to that is playing in their end, making them stop so that they don't have momentum coming out of their zone.
"We did it in pockets. You see it in the third period there; that's how we can play. I know it's cliché, but we've got to do that right from the start of the game and be confident in our ability to outplay teams that way."
More news and notes from the Bruins' 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs:
Knock it Off:The Maple Leafs tied the game, 1-1, with 7:39 to go in the first period when Mitch Marner's shot trickled through traffic in front and off John Tavares, who was battling with Patrice Bergeron in front of the net. The clash led to Tavares bumping the cage off its moorings, but the officials on the ice ruled a goal on the ice and, after a lengthy review, the tally was confirmed with the NHL declaring that the Bruins caused the net to dislodge.
"They use the rule that we knocked the net off which is actually incorrect. We didn't knock the net off. Tavares knocked the net off, he's the one that went into it," said Cassidy. "I think they were looking to see if the puck actually crossed the line. I couldn't tell. I never saw a replay. I assume it did…hard to challenge when they tell you the puck crossed the line and we knocked the net off.
"That's the reason why they allow continuation, which is right. That's the rule. But the way the rule's written, we have to knock the net. Bergy certainly made contact with Tavares in the crease, but we didn't knock the net off."

Momentum Killer:The Bruins fell behind, 3-1, after Matthews struck for two power-play markers just under four minutes apart late in the third period. The first came off a second effort in front after Linus Ullmark made the initial stop with his left pad, while the second came on a back-scratcher blast from the right circle.
"The second [Matthews] goal goes through our goaltender. I think that's a bad clear. In the corner, we win a battle, we don't get it out. That's a bad clear," said Cassidy. "Now you've got two guys stuck in the corner. They rotated over, good shot, and then the entry was just soft in the middle of the ice. One hand on the stick defenseman.
"You just can't do that. You've got to be hard in those areas. A lot of talent on the other side. Any time you play against, you can't clear pucks with one hand on your stick."
Bearing Down:Cassidy was not pleased with the way his club defended, noting that they must get back to the formula that has made them a strong defensive team for years.
"Even the last goal. We just get outworked right in front of our goaltender by Tavares," said Cassidy. "We've got to decide…we've got to work harder to keep the puck out of our net in this league. We've had the identity of being that team and we've got to reclaim it."
Finding A Home: Hall picked up his third goal of the season at 8:37 of the first period to open the scoring, tipping home a Patrice Bergeron bumper shot from the top of the crease on the power play.
"It's just something that I'm getting used to that position on the power play," Hall said of being the net-front presence on the top unit. "I think a few games ago I would have just gotten out of the way of the shot. I'm starting to find some comfort there and being able to tip and reading off guys. Bergy doesn't shoot it overly hard, very accurate shots, and that particular puck was going middle of the net. I felt it was OK to try to get a stick on it."

Losing Power:After striking just 14 seconds into their first power-play attempt of the night, the Bruins went 0-for-3 the rest of the way and lamented the missed opportunities on the man advantage that could have gotten them back in the game.
"We've had some really good power plays and then we've had some power plays where we look a little disconnected," said Hall. "We're gonna have to figure that out because it was a little bit of a momentum killer for us at times tonight when we weren't able to create chances on the power play it kind of stalled our 5-on-5 game and gave them momentum."
A Hometown Honor: For the first time in his Bruins career, Hall donned the second 'A' on his sweater, joining Marchand as an alternate captain for the contest in his hometown.
"It's obviously a good honor and something you don't take lightly wearing a letter for the Boston Bruins," said Hall. "It's a very cool thing. I've come in here; I've tried to be myself. I'm not the most vocal guy on the bench or in the room but I try and lead with my preparation and the way that I play and battle, It was nice to have that on the jersey tonight."