Andersen gets Maple Leafs back on track, makes 42 saves to defeat Bruins

BOSTON -- Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen needed a towel.
Some oxygen wouldn't have hurt, either.
Twenty minutes after the final horn sounded on Toronto's 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday, there were still beads of sweat dripping from the forehead and brow of an obviously fatigued Andersen.

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He had every right to be exhausted, having stopped 42 of 45 shots in Game 5 to help Toronto narrow Boston's lead to 3-2 in the Eastern Conference First Round. The win means the series moves back to Air Canada Centre for Game 6 on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, NESN).
In the process, Andersen did more than just stop the Bruins. He stopped the second-guessing from the critics, who pointed to the 13 goals he'd allowed on 108 shots entering Game 5 (4.12 goals-against average, .880 save percentage).
He also stopped the Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup Playoff run from ending, and maybe put to rest some painful postseason memories.

When Toronto built a 4-1 lead midway through the second period, Maple Leafs fans began panicking via social media with fears of history repeating itself.
On May 13, 2013, the Maple Leafs held a similar 4-1 lead in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Bruins in this same building. Goals Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron in the final 10:42 of the third period tied the score 4-4, and the Maple Leafs lost 5-4 on Bergeron's series winner at 6:05 of overtime.
This time, Toronto's three-goal lead started to evaporate when Boston forward Sean Kuraly scored at 17:18 of the second period to cut Toronto's lead to 4-2. The Bruins made it 4-3 at 5:56 of the third when Boston forward Noel Acciari converted a weird bounce off the back of the Maple Leafs net that had Andersen looking the wrong way.
Toronto fans went into full panic mode.
Good thing Andersen didn't.
"Didn't even think about [history]," said Andersen, who entered the NHL in the 2013-14 season. "I was just trying to help my team win and that's what happened."
Andersen was asked about his struggles earlier in the series.
"You just have to respond the right way. That's hockey for you. You just have to respond. Things can go wrong and you can feel the bounces aren't going your way but you just have to battle through it. We just did that.
"We come in with the right attitude, win or lose. And that's really showing your teammates you really believe. That's important. You have to show them you are on an even keel."
Forward Connor Brown said the Maple Leafs never lost faith in Andersen.
"We always believed in him," Brown said. "He's shown us time and again how he can rebound for us.
"The way he was playing, we never thought about history repeating itself."

Brown, 24, said he was on a family vacation in Ireland in 2013 when the Bruins and Maple Leafs were playing Game 7.
"We were up at 4:30 in the morning watching that game," said Brown, a Toronto native who grew up a Maple Leafs fan. "We saw Boston come back from being down 4-1 in that game. It stunk.
"But that wasn't in our minds tonight. I could see how it would be for people on social media though, once we were up 4-1 and they started coming back. I mean, we have passionate fans. I was one of them once. That's why I always say, it's a lot easier on the nerves being out there playing than it is watching the games on TV. A lot easier."
In a move by coach Mike Babcock to add grit to the Maple Leafs first line, Brown replaced William Nylander on the wing alongside Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. Nylander was dropped to the fourth line alongside rookie wing Andreas Johnsson and center Nazem Kadri, who returned after serving a three-game suspension for an illegal hit on Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in Game 1.
Babcock's tinkering proved fruitful.
Brown made it 1-0 at 6:36 of the first period, batting in a loose puck off a centering feed from Matthews, who had carried the puck from the Boston blue line all the way behind the net.
Kadri then made his presence felt, springing Johnsson with a seeing-eye pass that allowed the rookie to complete a shifty deke on Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to put the Maple Leafs up 2-0 at 10:12.
"It's big to get a lead like that, especially on the road," Andersen said. "We've had a hard time doing that in this series."
In each of Toronto's three losses, Andersen allowed the first goal within the first six minutes. Brad Marchand scored on the power play at 5:28 in the Bruins' 5-1 victory in Game 1; David Pastrnak scored at 5:26 in a 7-3 win in Game 2; and Torey Krug scored 28 seconds into a 3-1 win in Game 4.
"It was nice to get Freddie some help this time early on," Kadri said. "But we have to spend less time in the penalty box. We can't take that many penalties."
The Maple Leafs took eight minors, and the Bruins had three.
"Good thing we had Freddie," Kadri said. "He was great."