ECQF Game 3: Toronto Maple Leafs Lose At Home 5-2, Down 2-1 In Series

OVERALL RECAP

In a game that many Leafs fan were excited for, the Leafs were dominated all night long by the Boston Bruins. Toronto looked over matched much of the night not being able to handle the Bruins breakout. In a game that you would have thought the Leafs would come out firing, because of the nine year playoff hiatus, they didn’t really show up like many would have imagined. The Bruins showed just why they are the favorite to win the series and if they can pull off another win in Toronto on Wednesday, Toronto will have a hard time trying to fight back down 3-1 if that is the case.

May 6, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman

(4) keeps Boston Bruins forward

(46) away from Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender

(34) during game three of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the Air Canada Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

GAME RECAP

There has been so much, probably too much, talk about the Chara Vs. Kessell match-up. Although Chara would probably pair up well against any opponent, he has done a good job shutting down the Leafs goal scorer. This is a game that Toronto finally started shooting the puck and weren’t rewarded for it, out shooting the Bruins 47-38. The reason Toronto lost obviously includes the play of James Reimer, not his best playoff performance, the face-off circle and the giveaways. If the Leafs can continue to shoot the puck like they did this game and tighten up the defense a little, they will definitely be successful next game. After being down 2 to the Bruins, who got goals from Adam McQuaid and Rich Peverly, the Leafs just could never get it together enough to equalize the game. Tuukka Rask saved a lot of the shots that he should have stopped and then some and that really helped the Bruins to get the victory. After being down 2, toronto managed to get within 1, with a goal from Jake Gardiner, who I thought played a very solid game. I’ve been saying since the start of the series he should be playing instead of other players such as Micael Kostka or Ryan O’Byrne. He is far more skilled and yes will make some mistakes but the positives far out weight the negatives. Not even 3 minutes later Nathan Horton, who continues to play well, and Daniel Paille, who scored a short handed goal, made it 4-1 Bruins. The game was pretty much out of reach for the Leafs as the third period began. Phil Kessel managed to cut the lead by one, but the Bruins were just too much as David Krejci put the final nail in the Leafs cofin to make the 5-2 score a final. The Bruins pretty much played what you would call “a perfect road win” as they managed to hold the Leafs to just two goals and got production from all different players as 5 different Bruins contributed. The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to equal the series once more on Wednesday night as they host game 4.

SENSHOT 3 STARS

1. Tuukka Rask, BOS – 47 saves
2. Milan Lucic, BOS – 3 assists, 5 shots
3. Jake Gardiner, TOR – 1 goal, 4 shots