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In his 52 playoff video games, the identical quantity that Doug Gilmour vaulted to the lead of Maple Leaf playoff factors, it was time for Auston Matthews to step up together with his crew’s season within the steadiness.
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He did so Monday within the enamel of the Bruins’ den, three factors together with the 3-2 winner to even the collection in opposition to Boston at 1-1 heading again house. Matthews, who laboured attempting to succeed in his seventieth objective within the final three regular-season video games, reached it in type with an authoritative breakaway deke and objective on Linus Ullmark on a Max Domi feed with lower than eight minutes to play. The Leafs then killed a Tyler Bertuzzi penalty with the final of Ilya Samsonov’s 27 saves to beat Boston for the primary time up to now 9 video games total.
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At occasions, head coach Sheldon Keefe flipped Domi and Mitch Marner at proper wing to place Marner together with his long-time centre Matthews. It’s simply as vital to present Marner some soar, particularly with William Nylander lacking a second recreation with an undisclosed harm.
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Not solely had the Leafs not led in opposition to Boston all common season and thru 40 minutes of Sport 2, they have been 1-for-16 on the facility play earlier than the visiting crew’s third likelihood late within the second interval. Preceded by two video opinions, a Calle Jarnkrok shot on an earlier Boston minor that Ullmark gloved near the objective line that stayed out and Bertuzzi a couple of inches too excessive batting in a mid-air puck early on the second name, John Tavares tied it.
Matthews discovered the captain unguarded within the slot and Tavares spun to beat Ullmark brief facet. Boston’s mastery on the chief board had additional help from Toronto within the opening interval.
As soon as extra, begin got here undone attempting to point out Boston it wouldn’t be intimidated on Causeway Avenue. Jake McCabe cross-checked Jakub Lauko after a whistle and Boston capitalized. Jake DeBrusk added to his productive Sport 1 organising Morgan Geekie after David Kampf and Timothy Liljegren obtained confused on who ought to make a straightforward clear.
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Kudos to the Leafs for coming proper again 14 seconds later, Matthews corralling a excessive puck, firing it off of the crossbar, with Domi following up, controlling the bouncing rebound. That made Max and Tie Domi the primary Leafs father and son with Toronto playoff objectives. A couple of shut requires Toronto adopted with the fourth line of Ryan Reaves, Kampf and Connor Dewar out-playing Boston’s group.
All that was wasted within the final 20 seconds of the primary interval. Samsonov whiffed on a hand-off to Liljegren that the latter rush which gave Charlie Coyle an additional shot that broke Samsonov’s masks. Within the time it took the goalie to get his damaged strap fastened, Boston had time to double examine a faceoff drill, Pavel Zacha profitable it, defenceman Simon Benoit unable to tie up David Pastrnak, who then eluded Mitch Marner for his first of the collection.
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No Nylander meant extra grinding for the Leafs.
“We’ve to get to our recreation extra incessantly, and this crew makes that very troublesome,”Keefe advised Sporstnet earlier than the sport. “We’ve to get extra constant within the impartial zone, get behind their defence.”
As soon as extra the group made it exhausting on the Leafs from the nationwide anthems.
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“Every thing is ramped up, you may have the additional noise to cope with and that in itself brings much more emotion,” Keef mentioned. “It’s more durable to speak (with gamers and assistants). Their coronary heart charges are up, not simply due to the depth of the constructing feelings and what’s at stake , however due to the tempo of play.”
Every crew restored its Sport 1 lineup, Boston hoping its lesser lights would shine once more and hold Toronto’s stars in examine.
Beginning Ullmark left Boston coach Jim Montgomery open to criticism, messing with Jeremy Swayman’s 4-0 report in opposition to the Leafs this yr with solely three objectives in opposition to the previous three in common season and playoffs. However Montgomery was not going to interrupt up what’s been an efficient rotation.
Three objectives additionally represented the primary time in 9 video games Toronto had greater than two playoff objectives.
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