NHL

Thursday’s NHL playoffs: Bruins beat Leafs for 3-1 lead

Associated Press

Toronto — Facing an opponent missing arguably its best player in front of a raucous home crowd, the Toronto Maple Leafs felt pretty good heading into their Game 4 matchup with the Boston Bruins.

Less than three hours later, they had been pushed to the brink of playoff elimination.

Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Bruins defeated the Leafs 3-1 to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series. Boston was minus No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, who was a late scratch with an upper-body injury, but it didn’t matter as the Bruins ground out a victory on a night where some of Toronto’s young stars failed to produce on the big stage.

“We were set up pretty good,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock lamented. “We didn’t take advantage. That’s on us.”

Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk had the other goals for the Bruins, who can clinch the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at home in Game 5 on Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. David Pastrnak added two assists.

Tomas Plekanec scored the lone goal for the Leafs, who got 18 saves from Frederik Andersen.

“We gave them opportunities and they didn’t miss,” Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. “Now it’s do or die.”

Bergeron, part of a top line that combined for 20 points in the Bruins’ two home victories to open the series, was a surprise late scratch. Riley Nash took his spot between Marchand and Pastrnak, and played well in the four-time Selke Trophy winner’s absence earlier this season.

“It doesn’t matter (if Bergeron’s out),” Marchand said. “You play the same way.”

Marchand snapped a 1-1 tie for Boston with 3:05 left in the second after the Bruins were called for icing. Leafs coach Mike Babcock put his top line, centered by Auston Matthews, out hoping to pounce on a tired group, but Nash won the draw to Adam McQuaid, whose clearing attempt up the boards skipped past Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner. Pastrnak moved in on a 2-on-1 with Marchand, faking a shot to draw the overaggressive Nikita Zaitsev to him before feeding his linemate with a slick pass for a wide-open net.

The Leafs had a number of chances earlier in the period to go ahead, including Mitch Marner’s breakaway off a stretch pass from Morgan Rielly that Rask turned aside with the blocker, but were unable to get one by Rask.

Boston then made it 3-1 at 4:17 of the third. David Krejci blocked Travis Dermott’s shot and raced the other way on a 2-on-1 before finding DeBrusk, who beat a helpless Andersen after Roman Polak failed to block the pass across.

“We had a breakaway and a good 2-on-1, and we got nothing out of it,” Babcock said. “Both their 2-on-1s … they buried and we didn’t make good plays on them to help our goalie out. In the end, that’s the game.”

The Bruins stunned the Maple Leafs just 28 second into the game to quiet an electric Air Canada Centre when Krug’s snapshot from the sideboards found its way past Nash and Plekanec in front before glancing in off Andersen’s shoulder.

“It’s one I’ve got to fight to see,” Anderson said.

Toronto eventually got going and tied it at 7:43 when Marner fed a pass from his knees that was helped on by Patrick Marleau to Plekanec, who scored his first goal since being acquired from Montreal before the trade deadline.

The Leafs kept coming and nearly grabbed the lead later in the period, but Rask shot out his pad to deny Zach Hyman from in close as Toronto outshot Boston 12-7 through the opening 20 minutes.

Asked how concerned he is that Matthews, who scored the winner Monday, has been mostly quiet, Babcock said some of his youngsters are learning hard playoff lessons.

“I’m assuming he thought he would come tonight and dominate the game – that’s what I thought,” the coach said. “I thought the same with (William Nylander). That didn’t happen, but the other people you’re playing against are pros and they’re trying, too, and they’re competitive. There’s regular-season competitiveness and there’s Stanley Cup playoff competitiveness, and it keeps amping up.

“When you leave here tonight as an individual, as a coach, as a player, you’ve got time to evaluate … and most guys are pretty honest.”

MORE EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington 4, (at) Columbus 1: Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and two assists, and Braden Holtby stopped 23 shots as the Capitals evened their playoff series at two games each. Tom Wilson and Alexander Ovechkin each had a goal and an assist, and T.J. Oshie also scored for the workmanlike Capitals, who won this time in regulation after the first three games of the best-of-7 series were decided in overtime. Game 5 is Saturday afternoon in Washington.

Columbus had overcome multi-goal deficits to win the first two games in Washington. When the series shifted to Columbus on Tuesday, the Capitals prevailed in double-overtime.

This one lacked the intensity of the first three, and there was no comeback magic for the Blue Jackets. In fact, they were just flat through a good chunk of the first two periods, chasing pucks and flubbing passes. They finally seem to get out of the quicksand near the end of the second period after coach John Tortorella started switching up the lines.

Boone Jenner scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky had 29 saves for Columbus.

Washington led 1-0 after the opening period. Just after Columbus’ Thomas Vanek knocked the puck out of the blue paint with his glove, Kuznetsov shoveled the carom from the right boards out to Wilson, who connected from above the circle at 6:16.

The Capitals got their second halfway through the second period on a power play when Oshie flicked in a rebound. Ovechkin’s third-period goal made it 3-0.

Jenner redirected Josh Anderson’s slap shot 6:22 into the third to make it a 3-1 game and finally give the record Nationwide Arena crowd of 19,395 something to cheer about. Kuznetsov added an empty-net goal with 2:19 left in the game.