Bruins All But Kill Maple Leafs’ Playoff Chances With Big Win
Posted March 25, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was fun while it lasted.
Marco Sturm and rookie David Krejci each had a goal and an assist and the Boston Bruins put a dagger in Toronto’s playoff bubble Tuesday night, handing the Maple Leafs a 6-2 defeat at a time when they could no longer afford losses.
Jeremy Reich, Phil Kessel, Shawn Thornton and Glen Murray also scored for the Bruins, who maintained their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and improved to 86 points. That’s six ahead of the Leafs with five games left to play for Toronto. The best the Leafs can get to now is 90 points — which almost surely won’t cut it.
Head coach Paul Maurice knows that, which is why he pulled goalie Vesa Toskala with 3:18 to play in the third period and his team down three goals. It was the final act of desperation for a team that will almost surely miss the post-season three consecutive years for the first time since 1928.
Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jason Blake scored for the Leafs, who knew they had to sweep the home-and-home series with the Bruins this week and then still hope for some help. But instead they’ll head to Boston for Thursday’s game having already failed.
The Washington Capitals will be cheering for the Leafs on Thursday. The Caps kept pace with the Bruins, beating Carolina in a shootout Tuesday night to stay two points behind Boston.
Tuesday’s result in Toronto was thoroughly disappointing for a crowd of 19,562 at Air Canada Centre that had hoped to see their team’s miracle run continue. The Leafs had gone 12-4-1 in their last 17 games before entering Tuesday.
Both clubs were devoid of their leading scorers. Bruins playmaker Marc Savard was out with a back injury he picked up after being cross-checked by Montreal’s Steve Begin last Saturday night. Leafs captain Mats Sundin missed his fifth straight game with a groin injury.
But the Leafs had gone 3-1 without their star centre and fans had jumped back on the bandwagon in recent days. There was a buzz in the building Tuesday night not felt in a long time and a “Go Leafs Go!” chant breaking out just minutes into the game.
But the crowd was quickly quieted when Matt Lashoff’s point shot deflected off Murray and through Vesa Toskala’s five-hole just 3:57 into the game on a Bruins power play. The was the only goal in a tentative opening period by both sides.
Krejci doubled his team’s lead 1:12 into the second period, backhanding a rebound past Toskala off a Sturm blast. Krejci then returned the favour at 8:20, spotting Sturm at the side of the net with a perfect cross-ice pass on a power play and the German didn’t miss the open net. It was 3-0 Bruins and one could hear a pin drop at the Air Canada Centre.
Leafs veteran Bryan McCabe didn’t do his team any favours, blasting the puck over the glass in disgust after the third Boston goal, earning him a delay of game penalty. Not a smart penalty by a veteran player.
The crowd came to life again when Pavel Kubina bounced a pass off Blake and past Thomas with 4:30 left in the middle period, igniting another raucous rendition of “Go Leafs Go.”
But there would be no comeback on this night. Thornton made it 4-1 just 3:05 into the third period, deking around Toskala like he was Bobby Orr. Game over.
Ponikarovsky, on a Leafs power play, slid home a shot from the slot with 5:16 left to make it 4-2. Kessel restored the three-goal lead on a one-timer with 3:44 remaining. Reich found the empty net to complete the scoring at 19:43.
