The Maple Leafs kept their season alive and, maybe, made the Bruins uncomfortable
BOSTON — By forcing the Boston Bruins into a road trip they didn’t want to take, the Toronto Maple Leafs guaranteed their first-round opponent some reminders about ghosts they’d just as soon forget.
It’s the first time, really, the Bruins have found any reason to feel even an ounce of discomfort in this series.
They’ve trailed for a grand total of 20 minutes and 42 seconds through five games!
But after watching Joseph Woll slam the door shut on a flurry of overtime chances Tuesday before Matthew Knies froze the clock on a 2-1 Leafs victory, the specter of last spring’s squandered 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers was at least introduced here because it kept with the identical sequencing of Boston wins and losses.
“That’s the plan,” Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe told The Athletic before puck drop on Game 5. “Start with one. Keep rolling.”
“The more opportunities you have and you don’t close on it, obviously you get a little bit tighter,” Leafs captain John Tavares said.
With two guaranteed chances still to set up a Round 2 rematch with Florida, starting Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, the Bruins find themselves in a favorable position. But they understand first-hand the dangers of letting a wounded opponent find new life, which they may have just allowed to happen for a second straight year.
That’s especially true since the Leafs played Tuesday’s potential elimination game without Auston Matthews because of an undisclosed injury — the first time they’ve had to start without him at any point in the Stanley Cup playoffs since selecting him with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
It’s not yet known if Matthews will be able to get himself healthy enough to return to the Game 6 lineup, but the possibility at least remains on the table. He did manage a brief morning skate before Tuesday’s game at TD Garden and the Leafs plan on taking things day by day while managing his recovery.
With or without Matthews, the Leafs have shown they can hang with the Bruins at five-on-five and they unleashed an onslaught in the first period of Game 5 with a 28-7 advantage in shot attempts at evens.
“Playing for our lives, we weren’t going to be denied,” said Max Domi, who replaced Matthews as top-line center.
They also benefited from head coach Sheldon Keefe’s adjustments, most notably the decision to go to Woll after starting Ilya Samsonov in the previous four games. That could be a momentum-shifter based on how much more composed Woll looked in the crease.
Meanwhile, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery elected to change a winning lineup for Game 5 only to see Matt Grzelcyk, who he inserted for Kevin Shattenkirk, get beaten wide by Tavares in overtime to make the play that produced the Knies winner. Also of note is the fact Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo didn’t return to his team’s bench for the overtime period.
If he’s unavailable for Game 6, that would be a significant loss.
One of the best things about the Stanley Cup playoffs is how quickly the pendulum can swing in the opposite direction at a moment’s notice. Even though the Leafs are still struggling to score against Jeremy Swayman, it feels like they’ve seized a slice of momentum.
