BOSTON — These are the dog days of the season. The holidays are over. The All-Star break has yet to come. The nervousness that comes before the trade deadline has yet to kick in.
So what better than a one-goal Bruins–Maple Leafs game in the middle of January?
“We both know we may have to go through each other to advance in the playoffs at some point this year,” coach Jim Montgomery said after the Bruins’ 4-3 win over the Leafs on Saturday at TD Garden. “There’s another team, Tampa Bay, down south that’s going to have something to say about that. But we all know what’s at stake when we play each other.”
As expected, a Saturday showdown — on Hockey Night in Canada, no less — produced fireworks between the first- and second-place teams in the Atlantic Division. Here’s why the game was so good:
1. Goaltending matters. Matt Murray started on fire with a diving glove save on Brad Marchand. Murray had no business making the stop.
Meanwhile, Linus Ullmark showed some mid-game mortality. Pierre Engvall caught Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo in a slack gap when he pushed the puck into the Boston end. That said, Engvall’s 51-foot wrister was one Ullmark should have stopped.
“That was just awful,” Ullmark said. “That was bad. That’s totally on me. That’s unacceptable, especially in a tight game like this. You can’t have that sort of easy goals getting through you. I’m not happy with that, no.”
But Ullmark shook off the softie. Later in the second, he got help from Taylor Hall. The left wing’s diving back check broke up Mark Giordano’s far-post pass to Engvall. It gave Ullmark enough time to get back in the play and punch out Giordano’s strongside shot, even after losing his stick.
“I didn’t know it was Hallsy that made that play. That’s why I was confused by the question,” said Ullmark, who initially had trouble recalling the sequence. “But if he makes that pass, that’s almost a wide-open net. So he gave me a chance to come back as I was already on that side. That’s a terrific job by him.”
2. Emotions were high. Nick Foligno and Wayne Simmonds got things started in the first with an agreed-upon fight. The former Toronto teammates engaged in a long bout that ended with both veterans tapping each other on their heads in respect.
“Perfect example to get us going, to give us some energy and get our legs into it,” Patrice Bergeron said. “When you see a guy like that who’s been around for a long time who plays for the crest, but also for his teammates, step up like that, it goes a long way.”
Simmonds got hotter under the collar at the end of the second. Things started earlier when Michael Bunting jostled Bergeron. As play concluded, Charlie Coyle confronted Bunting to tell him what he thought about engaging his captain. This brought Simmonds and AJ Greer into the mix. Simmonds and Greer were given 10-minute misconducts for their vocal disagreement.
“If you’re going to come after Bergy like that, you’ve got to respond,” Greer said of the sentiment the Bruins were voicing. “I didn’t do much. I was just going to tell him, ‘Hey, if you’re going to do that, you’ve got to pick your head up.’ We got in the penalty box and I told Simmonds, ‘You would have done the same thing.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I would.'”
3. The stars led the way. No. 1 center Auston Matthews snapped a sharp-angle riser over Ullmark in the third after Mitch Marner picked Lindholm’s pocket.
The Bruins’ top line had its own contributions. In the second, David Pastrnak anticipated Conor Timmins’ D-to-D pass to Morgan Rielly inside the blue line. Pastrnak raced away for a two-on-zero rush with Rielly trying to get back into the play. Pastrnak opened up his hips to fake a cross-ice pass to Marchand. This got Murray cheating just enough to allow Pastrnak to fire in a five-hole goal.
Marchand, meanwhile, led all forwards with 22:06 of ice time. He assisted on Bergeron’s first-period goal and landed a game-high four shots.
“When there’s big games, the one person you probably worry about — because he brings so much emotion and intensity to us — getting emotional is him,” Montgomery said of Marchand. “But I’ve been really impressed with his maturity as a player controlling his emotions. He’s figured out a way to settle down. He just goes and plays hockey after he gets into a skirmish. Whereas in the past, that went the wrong way at times.”
4. The Bruins made timely plays. The best was David Krejci’s interception of John Tavares’ outlet pass to William Nylander late in the third. Krejci’s well-placed stick, just inside the blue line, denied Toronto’s rush and got the Bruins going the other way. Hall shot wide on the following rush. But because the Bruins controlled the walls, it allowed Matt Grzelcyk to step into the game-winner with 1:16 remaining in regulation.
“Just saw a little bit of daylight,” Grzelcyk said. “The puck just bounced right to my stick. I knew there was only a minute and a half or so left. So I just wanted to get the puck to the net.”
The Bruins had lost their previous game against the Kraken. It was their first regulation home loss. They did not want to lose two in a row. A Toronto showdown took place at the right time.
“Every period, the intensity ratcheted up, especially in the third,” Montgomery said. “It was great. (The) crowd was into it. Two elite teams in the league going at it. It was really good hockey.”
(Photo of Matt Grzelcyk: Winslow Townson / USA Today)
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