After the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, many blamed Auston Matthews. Matthews definitely gave his best to make sure the history doesn’t repeat, scoring a goal and adding an assist to his count, as the Maple Leafs won the game against the Bruins 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena.
Now the Maple Leafs are 2-1 in the first round tie against Boston. The first team to reach 4 wins will go through to the conference semi-finals.
Matthews played at the top level in the first two games of the series, with a total of 17 shots, including one that hit the post, and definitely deserved to finally score against the Bruins. This is his first goal of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, while he scored 37 goals in the regular season.
Andreas Johnsson had a goal and an assist, with Trevor Moore also hitting the net. Frederik Andersen had a fantastic night with a total of 34 saves.
The Leafs bounced back from a 4-1 defeat in Game 2, which even the result in the series. The opening game at TD Garden in Boston ended with the same result, although this time it was the Maple Leafs who won the game.
Toronto Maple Leafs jersey in an ice block in front the Molson center of Montreal Canadians for the 57e All stars game on January 24 2009 in Montreal Canada – meunierd / Shutterstock.com
Two Goalless Period, and One Full of Excitement
David Krejci and Charli Coyle scored for the Bruins, whose goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots for his team.
After a goalless first period, the second one proved to be extremely exciting. The Maple Leafs took the lead at 2:38 when Moore scored his first playoff goal of the career. It didn’t take long for the Bruins to respond, with Krejci hitting the net 52 seconds later, chipping the puck past Andersen.
Matthews needed only 12 seconds to once again give the Maple Leafs the advantage. Fans at Scotiabank Arena sang his name after the goal.
Johnsson scored the Maple Leafs third goal of the game with 2:48 before the end of the second period.
Boston scored on a power play with 37.3 seconds left on the clock, with Coyle scoring this second goal of the first round series.
The third period brought more chances, with Matthews and Johnsson missing their shots, while Andersen made a diving save to keep Krejci from equalizing. The Maple Leafs held on to win the game 3-2, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game 5 will be played on Friday in Boston, while Game 6 – of course, if necessary – will take place in Toronto on Sunday. The winner of this tie will play against either Tampa Bay or Columbus. After three games, Columbus leads the series 3-0.