Toronto Maple Leafs win hard fought battle with Boston Bruins 4-2

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

–       Travis Dermott opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 17:44 of the first period. Dermott’s goal is his first of the season. In 2017-18, he had one goal in 37 regular season games with the Maple Leafs.

–       Igor Ozhiganov scored Toronto’s second goal of the night at 13:06 of the second period. Ozhiganov’s goal is his first career NHL goal.

–       Josh Leivo scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game on the power play at 18:38 of the second period. Leivo has goals (2) in two consecutive games.

–       Zach Hyman scored the fourth Toronto goal of the night into an empty net at 18:25 of the third period. Hyman has three goals over his last five games.

–       Mitch Marner had the lone assist on Dermott’s first period goal and later registered the primary assist on Ozhiganov’s second period goal before picking up the secondary assist on Hyman’s empty net goal. Tonight’s game is Marner’s 10th multi-assist game of the season and ties his season-high for assists in a game (3). Marner has assists (5) in two consecutive games. He leads the NHL with 24 primary assists.

–       Frederik Gauthier picked up the secondary assist on Ozhiganov’s second period goal. Gauthier has two assists over his last three home games.

–       Tyler Ennis recorded the primary assist on Leivo’s second period goal. Ennis has recorded four (2 goals, 2 assists) of his six points on home ice this season.

–       Patrick Marleau had the secondary assist on Leivo’s second period goal. Marleau has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He became the 11th player in NHL history to skate in 1,600 career NHL games tonight.

–       John Tavares registered the primary assist on Hyman’s empty net goal. Tavares has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He has registered at least one point (3 goals, 4 assists) in each of his last six home games.

–       Frederik Andersen stopped 38 of 40 shots to earn the victory.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

HOME SWEET HOME

–       The Maple Leafs are 8-5-0 at home this season.

–       Toronto’s all-time record is 277-287-98-10 in 672 games against the Bruins and 173-109-51-3 in 336 games played in Toronto.

–       Toronto is 8-5-0 against the Eastern Conference this season and 3-2-0 against the Atlantic Division.

–       Tonight’s attendance is 19,286.

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

RECORD WHEN…

–          The Maple Leafs were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-1 on the power play tonight. Toronto is 7-3-0 when allowing a power play goal this season and 6-3-0 when scoring one power play goal.

–          Toronto is 11-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.

–          The Maple Leafs are 10-0-0 when leading after one period and 12-0-0 when leading after two periods.

–          Toronto has a 10-3-0 record when outshot by their opponent.

–          The Maple Leafs are 3-1-0 in Monday games.

OF NOTE…

–          Toronto’s line of Tyler Ennis, Frederik Gauthier and Josh Leivo did not start a 5-on-5 shift in the offensive zone.

–          Jake Gardiner was on the ice for a team-high 29 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5. Gardiner finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 53.7 percent (29 for, 25 against).

–          Par Lindholm was 4-for-4 (100%) in the faceoff circle when in the offensive zone.

–          John Tavares won 100 percent (5 won, 0 lost) of his faceoffs when matched up with Boston centre Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson.

UPCOMING GAMES:

–       Wednesday, November 28, 7:30 p.m., vs. San Jose Sharks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)

–       Saturday, December 1, 7:00 p.m., at Minnesota Wild (Hockey Night in Canada, TSN 1050)

–       Tuesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., at Buffalo Sabres (TSN4, FAN 590)

–       Thursday, December 6, 7:00 p.m., vs. Detroit Red Wings (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)

–       Saturday, December 8, 7:00 p.m., at Boston Bruins (Hockey Night in Canada, FAN 590)

POSTGAME QUOTES:

HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK

On tonight’s win:

I thought, to be honest with you, we got off to a good start, we were playing good and I thought they were better than us in the second period, especially in the first 15 minutes. They had two power plays where we couldn’t clear the puck, we had multiple opportunities to and didn’t. They scored – they didn’t score on the second one but they could have easily scored. I thought it kind of took us a while to recover after that and get playing the way we could. Then I thought the third period was pretty even. The power plays – obviously, we scored on the power play – but their power play was very dangerous the two times they had it in the second. I thought that’s what when they tilted the game and had it going their way.

On if it looks like Marner is playing a different game than other players at times:

I think that’s what you think with all good players, is it not? I think, if you’re watching [Boston], I think you think when [Pastrnak] gets the puck and he’s playing a different game than everybody else too. What’s amazing is most of us have no time and space whatsoever. We’re banging it here and banging it there and chasing it. Then the really good guys seem to have all the time in the world and that’s what you’re talking about. That’s why they’re just gliding all over the rink and it’s seems effortless and it seems like fun and they have the puck all the time and you can’t figure out why. They’re just better than everybody else.

On Ozhiganov’s progression from the beginning of the season:

The goal is nice for the kid, he got a goal and all that. What I like about him is he’s an elite passer and he’s a great, big body. He’s going to become a really good penalty killer. He can crack his wrists and clear the puck. We haven’t played him in that situation at all, but we think he can become that. The biggest thing when you come from the big ice to the little ice is everything is so much quicker, you’ve got to get used to it. He can really shoot the puck, he hasn’t showed that yet, but he can pass it and he’s not afraid to take the hit and make the play at the same time. To me, that’s where he’s kind of separated himself.

On what he likes about the Dermott-Ozhiganov pairing:

It’s like anything, what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to get to be really deep. If you’re going to have success in the end, it’s not going to be about one line. One line teams are always out of the playoffs. It’s going to be about having four lines and six D and maybe eight D that can play. That’s our goal is to build players as the year goes on. You have to stick with the process and the process allows you to win in the meantime, but you’ve got to develop players and you’ve got to find players. Every time someone gets hurt or is not here, someone else gets an opportunity and I think that’s what you’re seeing from the group. Ideally, we’ll end up deeper.

 FREDERIK ANDERSEN (38 SAVES)

On two second period penalty kills:

It was a good workout. They had the puck in there and we had a tough time getting it away from their sticks. When it seemed like we almost had a chance to clear it, it was just too far away from us and they did end up making us pay for that [first] one. The next one, we had a great kill and I think that definitely changed the momentum a bit.

On earning a tight win over Boston without Bergeron or Chara:

It’s just trying to play our game. I think you can’t really worry about who they’ve got in the lineup or don’t. I think we want to play our game and that’s the way we’ve been successful. I thought we did a good job tonight.

TRAVIS DERMOTT (1 GOAL)

On tonight’s win:

Tough game against these guys like it always is. I think we played well. I think we worked hard from the start of the game until the end. They had their chances but I think Freddie [Andersen] made some stops that he didn’t need to make, but helped us out there. I think we overall can be pretty happy with this game.

On the play of Mitch Marner:

With the puck, without the puck, he’s definitely a slippery guy. If you get open, he’s going to find you and get the puck to you right on the tape. He’s a guy you want to be out there with and if you get open and get in a good spot, he’s going to find you.

PATRICK MARLEAU (1,600TH CAREER NHL GAME)

On 1,600 games being more enjoyable after a win:

Yeah, it definitely is. Those milestone nights are a lot    more enjoyable when you get the two points, that’s for sure.

On the crowd response to his video tribute:

That was amazing. It was unexpected, but it was greatly appreciated.

On if he expected the video:

No, not at all. It was a big surprise but I enjoyed it. It was great.

MITCH MARNER (3 ASSISTS)

On a complete team victory tonight:

Yeah, it was great, I think the whole team played the way we wanted to tonight. We came out with high energy. I don’t think we messed around in the neutral zone, we were getting pucks in and trying to make it hard on their [defence] all night.

On Ozhiganov’s first career NHL goal:

It’s great, you always remember your first one so it’s special feeling. It’s a great play by him finding that hole and for me I just tried to place it for him so he could walk into it and it was a great shot.