Maple Leafs defeat Bruins in Game 3, take series lead

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews and Andreas Johnsson each had a goal and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

The Maple Leafs lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.
"We just used our speed and we got in their end and tried to play below their dots," Matthews said. "We did a good job tracking back tonight and supporting our defense and breaking out the puck clean."
WATCH: [Bruins vs. Maple Leafs Game 3 highlights | Complete series coverage]
Frederik Andersen made 34 saves for Toronto, including a stick save on David Krejci with 3:09 left in the third period to preserve a one-goal lead.
"He's just so steady in there. He made some huge saves for us. That one there near the end with the knob of his stick on Krejci all alone in front, he's just been steady all series and all year for us," Matthews said. "He's just been a rock back there, and we trust him every night. It doesn't matter what the situation is, we feel like we can win because he's in there."
Krejci and Charlie Coyle scored, and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves for the Bruins.
"I thought there were some positive things we can get from this game," Krejci said. "We didn't give them much offensive chances. I thought we kept them on the outside for the most part for pretty much the whole game, so that was good. Their three goals they got were from when they got to the crease, so those are tough ones."
Game 4 is at Toronto on Wednesday.
The Maple Leafs went up 1-0 at 2:38 of the second period when Trevor Moore scored from in close on the rebound of Morgan Rielly's shot from the left half-wall.

Krejci tied the game 1-1 at 3:30 when he scored from the slot on the rebound of Jake DeBrusk's shot from the right of the net along the goal line.
Matthews one-timed a pass from Johnsson at the side of the net on the power play to put Toronto up 2-1 at 10:12.
"Just excitement," Matthews said of his first goal of the series. "It's nice, obviously, to get one. It's just another level when you score a goal in the playoffs, especially at home. I think I've said this before, but it feels like an earthquake under you. The atmosphere tonight was unbelievable. We just want to continue what we built off of tonight here on Wednesday."
Johnsson made it 3-1 on the power play at 17:12 when he took a pass from John Tavares from behind the net and backhanded a shot from the slot.

The Bruins cut the lead to 3-2 at 19:22 on the power play when Coyle shot over Andersen's blocker from the slot.

"It's never an ideal situation being down a couple of goals, but we got ourselves back in the game," Krejci said. "We felt confident enough we could come back in the third. It's just one goal, but we couldn't get it today. Playoffs is about getting ready for the next game. It's a new day tomorrow."
Toronto played without center Nazem Kadri, who was suspended for the rest of the series Monday for cross-checking DeBrusk in Boston's 4-1 win in Game 2 on Saturday.

They said it

"It's about keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and once you do have possession, it's about getting it to the net a little bit more. We can't stay on the outside; we have to find ways to create some chances. Their defensemen are doing a good job, but it's that type of game where you need to be moving your feet and be on top of them." -- Bruins center Patrice Bergeron
"That's something we struggled with our first year. It's come quite a long way, and now you just got guys, doesn't matter who, sacrificing their body and blocking shots and paying the price to obviously win games. Like [Mitchell Marner] those last two shots, those two blocks were huge for us. It doesn't matter who you are, when you see a guy like him sacrifice their body, I think it just motivates everybody on the bench, and obviously with time winding down, that was huge." -- Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews on holding the lead in the third period
"I think we did a good job in the third period. We're not crumbling, and we feel good and we're not changing the way we play. We still go after them and we still play the way that's put us in that position, which is important. In years past, you've watched us play well for two periods, and then get a little bit nervous and tense up a little bit, but I don't think that's happening right now. We're having confidence in ourselves." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly

Need to know

Teams that win Game 3 of a best-of-7 NHL playoff series that was tied 1-1 have a series record of 212-100 (.679). … Forward Tyler Ennis took Kadri's place in the Maple Leafs lineup. He was plus-1 with an assist and two hits in 6:54 in his 2018 postseason debut.

What's next

Game 4 of Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, NESN)