Maple Leafs charge past Bruins, win Game 1
Score four straight goals; Marner has two, converts penalty shot
via NHL.com
Mitchell Marner scored twice to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Thursday.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Saturday.
William Nylander and John Tavares scored, and Frederik Andersen made 37 saves for the Maple Leafs, who lost three out of four to the Bruins during the regular season.
Patrice Bergeron scored, and Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for Boston, which defeated Toronto in seven games in the first round last season.
Bergeron scored a power-play goal at 9:31 to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
Marner tied it 1-1 at 16:44.
Marner scored a shorthanded goal on a penalty shot at 2:47 of the second period for a 2-1 Toronto lead.
Nylander made it 3-1 with on a breakaway with 1:35 left in the period.
Tavares scored into an empty net with 1:19 remaining in the third period for the 4-1 final.
They said it
“That’s a great win for us. We played very well as a team, but we’re going to need to keep it going throughout the series. The games are just going to get harder and harder. As a team, we’ve just got to make sure we come to play every night.” — Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner
“That was a [David Pastrnak] move; he’s done that in practice. I put my whole weight on my right foot, and then I just couldn’t get there anymore. It was a nice move, fresh ice too, so I probably should’ve recognized that, but yeah, good move.” — Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask on Marner’s puck-handling on the penalty shot
Need to know
The team that wins Game 1 has a best-of-7 series record of 467-214 (.686). … Toronto forward Patrick Marleau skated in his 185th NHL postseason game, tying Denis Potvin for 27th. … Marner became the second player in Maple Leafs history to score on a playoff penalty shot. Mats Sundin did it against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 4 of 1999 Eastern Conference Final. Marner’s shot was Toronto’s fourth postseason attempt. … Rask stopped the only other playoff penalty shot he has faced, against Ville Leino of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
What’s next
Game 2 of Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS)
This kid knows what’s up. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/aBXymYvP5x
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 12, 2019
37 stops for @f_andersen30. Bring on the #HockeyHugs!#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/uvIqVFuQmI
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 12, 2019
Mitch Marner became just the fifth NHL player to score a shorthanded penalty-shot goal in the postseason. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/bPA0keVxoP
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 12, 2019
Strong start to the series 💪
Take a closer look with tonight's @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers.#LeafsForever #That649Feeling pic.twitter.com/DD26x0l7LA
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 12, 2019