The Toronto Maple Leafs took advantage of a lacklustre performance by the Boston Bruins and left TD Garden with a 4-2 win on Tuesday night. Matthew Knies, Max Domi, and William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs, while John Tavares had three assists and Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves on 20 shots.
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Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins, while Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves on 34 shots.
Cowan and Joshua Answer the Bell
The lack of response to Radko Gudas’ knee-on-knee hit on Auston Matthews that effectively ended his season has been the hot topic in Toronto, so much so that I hate to bring it up. But, since that incident, the Maple Leafs have played with more passion and have been better overall.
The Maple Leafs had another opportunity on Tuesday night to prove their toughness. Nikita Zadorov hit Tavares from behind and sent him into the boards, and was promptly met by 20-year-old Easton Cowan, who then drew a crowd. Sure, it would be nice if the team didn’t need a rookie to defend a star player like Tavares, but it did show that he is buying into head coach Craig Berube’s message.
“I really appreciated it,” Tavares said of Cowan. “He’s feeling pretty tall right now. Great for him to continue to grow and mature. The way he came in in defence of me speaks volumes to his passion for the group, for the team.”
At 3:03 of the third period, Dakota Joshua dropped the gloves with Zadorov, coming to Tavares’ defence one last time.
“Guys are getting in there and protecting their teammates, which is good,” Berube said. “Have to give Easton a lot of credit. Young kid going after a big man. He has a lot of character. And Dak taking care of business, it’s really good to see team stuff like that.”
Stolarz Continues Post-Olympic Upswing
After taking a puck to the throat during warmups on Saturday that sent him to the hospital, Stolarz had a great night against the Bruins. A few big saves kept the score 1-0 for Boston, and when the Maple Leafs finally got the lead, he helped them hold onto it.
“Since the (Olympic) break, I’ve been playing exceptionally well, so I just wanted to keep that rolling,” Stolarz said. “You look down the other end, and there’s one of the better goalies in the League in (Jeremy) Swayman, so you know you have to be on your game. He played fantastic to go back and forth save for save, and games like that for a goalie are pretty exciting.”
Got to love the confidence, but he’s right. Stolarz is 2-2-2 since the break, and has a 2.64 goals-against average (GAA) and a .919 save percentage (SV%).
“Unreal,” Tavares said of Stolarz. “Obviously, we got ourselves in a little bit of penalty trouble, and the PK overall (did well), and certainly some unbelievable saves on some pretty good shooters. He kept the game in a good spot for us, and we were able to earn some power plays of our own and continued to build momentum, build our game and get rewarded to put ourselves in a good spot and compete right to the end to get the win.”
Tavares: “Best Game In a Long Time”
A lot is being said about how well Toronto played on Tuesday. It was a great overall effort: they played with grit and heart, and their big players stepped up in big moments. That said, the Bruins looked uninterested for most of the night, and that might have played into the Maple Leafs’ performance. But hey, the players thought it was a good game, so who am I to disagree?
“Hands down, our best game in a long time,” Tavares said. “We stuck with the game all night. We kept fighting, kept competing. Put them under a lot of pressure. All around, a great overall team win.”
Knies also played a great game, scoring two goals, including the first shorthanded goal of his career and an empty-netter to seal the victory.
“Even though we’re all aware of how strong he is, it impresses you when he pulls it off,” Tavares said of Knies. “He’s a beast. Very unique player at his age to have that strength and the soft hands and the poise and the touch. He has a nice package as a player. We’re lucky to have him.”
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs take on the New York Rangers and Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night, and then travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues on Saturday night.
