Bruins build big lead, stop Maple Leafs' streak

BOSTON-- Torey Krug scored his first goal of the season and had two assists, and the Boston Bruins ended a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on Saturday.

Brad Marchand had three assists, and Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for the Bruins (15-10-4).
"It was very good," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Goaltending good early, we didn't play as well we wanted to coming out of the gate, gave up some chances, which Toronto is going to get.
"But we got through it and got going and our best players were very good, helped out offensively, power play chipped in. I thought our defense] corps was very efficient with the puck. I guess the last seven, eight minutes we got maybe on our heels a little bit too much, but for the most part it was one of our more complete games."
***[WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Bruins game highlights]*
Frederik Andersen allowed six goals on 28 shots before he was pulled in the third period by the Maple Leafs (20-9-1), who had a six-game point streak. Garret Sparks replaced him and made four saves.
"It's disappointing," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought we were going to come in here and play real well. ... Every once in a while you get fed your lunch, today was one of those days. Get yourself regrouped and get back at [it]."

Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson scored at 11:20 of the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Andersen stopped Forsbacka Karlsson's initial tip but the Boston forward flipped in the rebound.
David Backes scored a power-play goal with a wrist shot from between the circles at 8:54 of the second period to put Boston ahead 2-0. Krug extended the lead to 3-0 by scoring on a wrist shot from the left point at 17:45; the defenseman had 12 assists in his first 17 games this season.
Danton Heinen scored 1:47 into the third period to make it 4-0 when he took the puck to the net and scored stick side. It was Heinen's third goal of the season and ended an 11-game drought.
Travis Dermott scored at 4:03 to get Toronto within 4-1 with a wrist shot from the high slot.

David Krejci scored on a return pass from Pastrnak at 4:37 to give Boston a 5-1 lead. Ryan Donato made it 6-1 at 6:13 when Andersen mishandled Heinen's shot from the wing and Donato stuffed the puck at the right post. The Maple Leafs then pulled Andersen.
Auston Matthews made it 6-2 at 9:30 with a goal from the top of the crease, and Andreas Johnsson's power-play goal made it 6-3 at 12:22.
"They made a push back and we didn't respond, and when it's 6-1, it's a tough hole to climb out of in the third period," Matthews said. "I thought the way we did battle back a little bit in the third, at that point it's too late"

They said it

"It's not a fun one to be a part of, we didn't get the result we needed in a big divisional game. Definitely learn from it and obviously we have to add a little bite to our game, a little execution. It should [tick] us off and be ready for next week." -- Maple Leafs center John Tavares
"It's a game where you're obviously really excited about it: Saturday night in our building, against a (Atlantic) division rival, a team that we know we can skate with and play well and do a good job against their skill. So I think coming away with a win, it's exciting to see the way the guys responded after three games not playing exactly the way we wanted." -- Bruins defenseman Torey Krug

Need to know

Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy left the game with 10:07 to play in the third period after taking a hit from Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman. ... Matthews has a five-game point streak (six goals, four assists) since returning from a shoulder injury. ... Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly has an assist in each of the past five games. ... Maple Leafs forward William Nylander played 16:30 with three shots on goal in his second game since rejoining Toronto. ... Krejci's assist on Krug's goal was his 591st point with the Bruins, moving him past Cam Neely for 10th on their scoring list.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, TSN4, NHL.TV)
Bruins: At the Ottawa Senators on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, NESN, NHL.TV)