The Boston Bruins will host their divisional rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Thursday night for their fourth and final meeting this season. Over their last ten games, the Maple Leafs have a 6-3-1 record, most recently picking up a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (April 4). The Bruins continue to inch toward making NHL history, as they are just three wins shy of breaking the all-time record for wins in a season. They are 9-1-0 over their previous 10 games despite resting some key players as they prepare for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins return to TD Garden after winning consecutive road games over the Pittsburgh Penguins and St Louis Blues.
Head To Head Matchup
The Bruins have won two out of the three meetings this season between the two Original Six franchises. Toronto picked up a 2-1 win on Nov. 5 at Scotiabank Arena. Maple Leafs’ superstar, Auston Matthews, potted two goals in the win, while Brad Marchand scored the Bruins’ lone goal, capitalizing on a penalty shot opportunity. The next matchup came on Jan. 14 in Boston and was tightly contested. Bruins defenceman, Matt Grzelcyk, broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period to clinch the win. In their most recent meeting, the Bruins picked up a decisive 5-2 victory, with Pavel Zacha extending the Bruins’ lead with two goals in the third period.
Dating back to the 2016-17 season, the two franchises have met 21 times and also played two seven-game playoff series while creating quite the rivalry between each other. Toronto holds a slight edge in regular season play with a 13-8 record, while the Bruins have come out on top when it matters most with an 8-6 record over the Maple Leafs in the playoffs. Toronto has also outscored Boston 71-64 during their regular season meetings over the 21 games.
The Bruins, however, eliminated the Maple Leafs in consecutive seasons, with both the 2018 and 2019 Playoffs featuring a first-round matchup between the two rivals. Both instances required a Game 7 to determine the winner, and Boston prevailed both times, outscoring Toronto 51-37 in the 14 playoff games.
The Maple Leafs are locked into a first-round matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Bruins await wild-card positioning to determine their first-round opponent. Tonight’s game could preview a second-round playoff matchup, should both teams advance past the first round.
Players To Watch
For the Maple Leafs, Matthews has been elevating his game as the season draws to a close. The reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner has scored seven goals and six assists for 13 points in his last 10 games. After a slow start to the season, he is now up to 38 goals and 42 assists for 80 points in 70 games. In 14 career games against the Bruins, he has scored nine goals and eight assists.
Another player to watch is Mitch Marner, who has piled up the points over his career against the Bruins with eight goals and 23 assists in 19 career games. The Maple Leafs’ star is having a career year sitting just two points back of his previous career-high (97) set last season. However, with five games left, he is looking to hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. He has 28 goals and 67 assists for 95 points in 76 games this season. He also etched his name in the record books by putting together the longest point streak (23 games) in franchise history earlier this season.
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The Bruins’ leading scorer David Pastrnak has put himself in contention to hit the elusive 60-goal mark after notching a hat trick over the weekend. He was named the NHL’s third star of the week as he continues to put together the best season of his nine-year NHL career. In 23 career games against the Maple Leafs, he has 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points.
Zacha stepped up for the Bruins the last time these two clubs met, potting two goals en route to a 5-2 win. He has picked up five assists over his previous five games, including three assists in last Saturday’s (April 1) game against the Penguins. The Bruins’ offseason acquisition has set new career highs across the board this season with 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points. He also has a career-high plus/minus rating of plus-26 after years of finishing with a negative rating for the New Jersey Devils.
Taylor Hall practiced on the Bruins’ third line with Charlie Coyle and Tyler Bertuzzi on Wednesday, indicating that he may return to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 25. He has been clutch for the Bruins at times this season, coming up with five game-winning goals. His return from injury will be crucial, as the Maple Leafs will have another offensive threat to be aware of.
Goaltending Matchup
Matt Murray sustained a head injury in Sunday’s (April 2) contest against the Detroit Red Wings; there is no timetable for his return. The Maple Leafs opted to start their third-string goalie against the Blue Jackets, meaning Ilya Samsonov will likely get the start tonight. He has put together a solid first season with the Maple Leafs after signing as an unrestricted free agent during the offseason. He has a 25-10-4 record with four shutouts, a 2.41 goals-against average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%). In five career appearances against the Bruins, he has a 3.28 GAA and a .860 SV%.
The Bruins will likely return to Linus Ullmark as he is getting more reps ahead of the playoffs. He has a 38-6-1 record with two shutouts, a 1.90 GAA and a .937 SV% this season. He has started all three games against the Leafs this season, posting a 2.35 GAA and a .917 SV%.
Game Storylines
While their first-round meeting is locked in, the Maple Leafs are still looking to secure home ice against the Lightning. Tampa Bay will be playing the second half of a back-to-back tonight as they take on the New York Islanders. Ryan O’Reilly, the Maple Leafs’ big acquisition ahead of the trade deadline, will be returning to the lineup after missing 14 games with a broken finger.
A couple of Maple Leafs are closing in on some milestones, as Matthews is three goals away from hitting 300. With 477 career games played, he will join Alexander Ovechkin as the only two active players to score 300 career goals in under 500 games. Marner is looking to join Darryl Sittler, Doug Gilmour and Matthews to become just the fourth player in franchise history to hit the 100-point mark.
Aside from chasing the NHL record of 63 regular-season wins, Linus Ullmark is now two wins shy of 40, which is also the Bruins’ franchise record for most wins in one season, set by Pete Peeters in the 1982-83 season. On the injury front, David Krejci left practice early on Wednesday and is questionable for tonight’s contest. “We’re going to be very precautionary, and he’ll be questionable for tomorrow,” Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery said. Hall is nearing a return, while Nick Foligno remains in a non-contact jersey in practice.
Whether or not either team decides to rest some of their key players, tonight’s game will certainly have a playoff atmosphere to it. Anytime these two Atlantic Division foes share the ice, the results are highly entertaining. So tune in tonight for some great hockey!
