The Maple Leafs’ three-game winning streak came to an end Saturday night. The Boston Bruins defeated Toronto 5-3 at the Scotiabank Arena.
For one of the few times this season, the Leafs took an early lead. Nick Robertson scored on the power play, guiding Max Domi’s cross-ice pass by Jeremy Swayman for a 1-0 lead at 3:12 of the first period.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Boston responded 18 seconds later. Morgan Geekie scored his 11th of the season on a double-clutch shot that fooled Toronto net-minder Anthony Stolarz to make it 1-1. Twenty ticks off the clock more, and the Bruins had the lead. Philippe Myers and Dakota Joshua fumbled a clearing attempt, leaving the puck for Bruins’ forward Viktor Arvidsson to bury past Stolarz for a 2-1 advantage.
The Leafs fought back, and Matias Maccelli scored his fourth of the season off a no-look between-the-legs pass by Nicholas Roy at 13:03.
The game was tied 2-2 going into the first intermission.
The Bruins broke the deadlock 2:15 into the second frame on Michael Eyssimont’s controversial power play goal. From the side of the net Eyssimont banged away at a puck that Stolarz thought he had frozen to make the score 3-2.
David Pastrnak extended the Bruins’ lead to 4-2 at the 4:41 mark of the second with his eighth on the season. The Boston winger dangled past Simon Benoit, then whiffed over a shot, but the momentum of the puck was enough to trickle past Stolarz.
The Leafs were not finished yet. With just over three minutes left in the period, John Tavares snapped a one-timer off a feed from William Nylander for another power play goal to close the gap to 4-3.
But that was as close as Toronto would get, 16:58 into the third period, Fraser Minten put the game on ice, beating replacement goalie Dennis Hildeby and his former teammates with his third of the season, making the final 5-3.
Up Next: The Maple Leafs host Carolina Sunday Night at Scotiabank Arena.
