Boston Bruins Dominate Game 1 Against Toronto Maple Leafs: Marchand and McAvoy Shine in 5-1 Victory.
The game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at TD Garden, Boston Bruins secured a 5-1 victory. Both Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy had two assists each.
Coach Jim Montgomery expressed his satisfaction with the team’s discipline and performance, stating, “I really liked our team’s discipline. I liked our execution. I liked the emotion we played with. And I thought our physicality was very evident.
David Kampf scored for Toronto, while Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves for the Maple Leafs, who are the number 3 seed in the Atlantic. Forward William Nylander missed the game due to an undisclosed injury.
Forward Auston Matthews of the Boston Bruins said, “I thought the game got off to a really strong start. And then just little mistakes, and they’re a very patient team. And obviously [they] capitalized on our mistakes, so it’s a game of inches. It just kind of shows you what the series is all about.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series will be held in Boston on Monday.
John Beecher, playing his first NHL playoff game, gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 2:26 left in the first period, ending a 2-on-1 rush with Jasper Boqvist.
Beecher remarked, “I knew there was going to be energy in the building. We came for the anthem and honestly, sitting on the bench and hearing the crowd, I got chills and everyone was so excited to be there.”
Brandon Carlo extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:47 of the second period, tapping in a pass from DeBrusk from below the goal line.
Shortly after, DeBrusk made it 3-0 at 15:02, beating Samsonov with a shot over the glove from the right face-off circle during a power play.
DeBrusk expressed, “My aim was simply to adopt a swift, gritty approach to the game.”I didn’t put any numbers or anything on it. Obviously, I think the biggest thing that we talk about, even in the room, is just staying in the moment, so I didn’t really set any goals “I simply aimed to contribute to the team in whatever capacity possible,” expressed DeBrusk.
DeBrusk scored again on the power play at 17:34, tipping in a feed from Marchand at the top of the crease.
Toronto forward Mitch Marner noted, “It’s pretty clear they’re a very skilled team over there. When you give them a lot of power plays, they start to feel really good about their game.”
Campf cut the lead to 4-1 at 1:39 of the third period, converting a backhand feed from Connor Dewar in the slot.
Trent Frederic sealed the 5-1 final with an empty-net goal at 17:52
Swayman reflected, “I think we stuck to our game plan really well. It starts from our coaching staff giving us the tools to be effective against this team. They’re obviously a great team and they predict really well, and I thought our game plan was excellent. Read More:
Comments: Marchand surpassed Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for second place in playoff points in Bruins history with 130 points (53 goals, 77 assists) in 147 games, trailing only Ray Bourque amassed a total of 161 points across 180 games, comprising 36 goals and 125 assists in his career.When leading 1-0 in a series, the Bruins are 38-20, including 29-13 at home