Matthews scores 49th, Maple Leafs defeat Bruins to gain in Atlantic

BOSTON -- Auston Matthews scored his 49th goal of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Morgan Rielly had a goal and an assist, and Erik Kallgren made 23 saves in relief for Toronto (42-19-5), who regained third place in the Atlantic Division. Petr Mrazek allowed one goal on four shots before leaving with a groin injury at 7:44 of the first period.
"I'd say [our effort was] complete," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Obviously we gave a couple late ones up in the third, but I just thought we didn't give them a lot and managed a couple of response pushes that they had. But it was a real patient game, and we took advantage of the opportunities that we had."
David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist for Boston (41-20-5). Jeremy Swayman made 19 saves, and Linus Ullmark made seven in relief in the third period.
"Obviously we weren't prepared to play," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It's a bit of a surprise in that area that we weren't sharp early on. All those things don't happen, and you need your goaltender to bail you out. That didn't happen, and that's where the game got away from us."

Colin Blackwell gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 5:09 of the first period, redirecting a pass from Jason Spezza at the crease after a Bruins turnover. It was his first goal in four games with Toronto since being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken on March 20.
"The first couple games I've just been kind of getting comfortable. I thought I kind of had a little bit more to give," Blackwell said. "I thought our guys did a really good job of kind of weathering their storm and, you know, playing on our toes all night. It was fun. … It felt like a playoff game."
Pastrnak tied it 1-1 on the power play 50 seconds later with a one-timer that deflected off the stick of Toronto defenseman TJ Brodie.
Rielly gave Toronto a 2-1 lead at 9:43 during a 4-on-4, scoring after William Nylander's wide shot.
"I don't think it was an easy game at all," Rielly said. "I thought they came out well, and we matched. Then it just kind of goes from there. Early on I didn't think our power play was on. They get one on their power play. So, the game's up for grabs. I thought we played well."
Alex Kerfoot made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 18:44.
Marner extended the lead to 4-1 at 8:28 of the second period on a 2-on-1 with Matthews.
Matthews made it 5-1 on the power play at 16:00 on a rebound to the right of the crease. He leads the NHL in goals.
David Kampf extended it to 6-1 47 seconds later.
Jake DeBrusk got Boston within 6-2 at 18:19, redirecting Charlie McAvoy's shot from the point.
"I think we showed good fight in the third," McAvoy said. "We crawled back and had a couple chances at the end. That's a good sign of our makeup and resilience, but we can't go down as much as we did and expect to win."

Curtis Lazar made it 6-3 at 13:02 of the third period, and Taylor Hall cut it to 6-4 at 17:38.
"It's tough," Lazar said. "I just thought they were more hungry tonight. So it's a good lesson for our team down the stretch. We're going to get them again during the regular season, and we'll hopefully cross paths later on."
NOTES: Keefe said Mrazek could "miss some time." ... Toronto defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Justin Holl each left the game with an injury in the second period and did not return for precautionary reasons. There was no update on either. ... Marner extended his point streak to seven games (13 points; five goals, eight assists). ... Michael Bunting had an assist and has scored 51 points this season (20 goals, 31 assists) to tie Dan Daoust (18 goals, 33 assists in 1982-83) for 10th by a Maple Leafs rookie.