Game 3 Takeaways: Special Teams Dominance Leads Bruins to 4-2 Win originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
It wasn’t pretty, but the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the first round of their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It took the Bruins a while to get going — they didn’t have a shot on net in the final 12 minutes of the first period — but they finally emerged with a 4-2 win in Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
The Bruins have now won five Game 3s in a row dating back to the 2021 playoffs.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Bruins’ performance was their resilience. They tied it just 4:27 after Matthew Knies opened the scoring in the second period. When Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game 2-2 in the third period, it took the B’s just 28 seconds to regain the lead again on a Brad Marchand goal.
Marchand also scored an empty-net goal late in the third period to seal the victory, moving him into a tie with Cam Neely for first place on the team’s all-time playoff leaderboard with 55.
Marchand’s play in the third quarter set the tone for the B’s in some shaky moments. That’s why he’s the captain.
The series continues Saturday night with Game 4 in Toronto. Before we look at that matchup, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Leafs Game 3.
Special teams carry Bruins
The Bruins received a harsh whistle in this game, but the penalty kill did its job very well.
This unit went a perfect 4-of-4, improving their mark to 10-of-11 in three games. That’s a pretty good success rate against a Leafs team that had the seventh-best power play in the regular season.
Swayman was arguably the Bruins’ best penalty killer. He made some excellent saves while the B’s were shorthanded, including a clutch stop on an open Auston Matthews shot from inside the left faceoff circle during a Leafs power play in the second period. Swayman also made three Grade A saves during a Leafs power play early in the third period (see video below).
In total, he made six saves while the B’s were shorthanded.
The Bruins also continued to be hot on the power play. Jake DeBrusk scored on the man advantage early in the third period to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
It was DeBrusk’s third power play goal of the series and Boston’s fourth tally with the man advantage in the series. Marchand’s goal late in the game was also technically a power play tally.
The Bruins shot an impressive 30 percent on the power play in four games against Toronto during the regular season. The Bruins’ power play is converting at a 50% rate (5 of 10) in the first round. It has become a huge weapon for the B’s and arguably the main reason they lead the series.
Playoff intensity
This series has been very physical and Game 3 was no exception.
The Bruins and Leafs combined for 60 hits and 20 blocks in the first period alone. Bruins linemates Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak took some big hits on the same shift in the opening period.
Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi were two of the most physical players in the game and were involved on several occasions.
The Bruins and Leafs made history over 40 minutes with the number of hits recorded:
Bruins & Leafs combined for 99 hits in 2 periods.
It’s the most hits in any NHL game in 40 minutes since April 2018
– Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 25, 2024
These teams have combined for 334 hits (169 for the Bruins, 165 for the Leafs) and 98 blocked shots (55 for the Bruins, 43 for the Leafs) in three games.
The Leafs have been just as physical (if not more so) than the Bruins in this series. That’s a big change compared to the 2013, 2018, and 2019 first-round series between these teams, when the Bruins were clearly the tougher team.
Swayman was the Bruins’ best player…again
The Leafs just can’t understand Jeremy Swayman.
The Bruins goaltender made his second start in the series in Game 3 and was Boston’s best player. The Leafs only opened the scoring with 6:50 left in the second period. It could have been a lot worse for the Bruins, but Swayman kept them that way.
He made saves on 28 of 30 shots for a .933 save percentage. The Leafs based on the quality of their scoring chances were expected to score 3.03 goals in Game 3, by natural statistics trickbut they only got two records to surpass Swayman.
Swayman went 3-0-0 against the Leafs in the regular season and is now 2-0-0 in this series. He has a .971 save percentage and a 1.40 GAA in those seven games. He has made 93 saves on 96 shots (.954 save percentage) in two games this series.
The Bruins have alternated starting Swayman and Linus Ullmark in every game since February 21. Will they maintain the rotation in Game 4? Given how well Swayman has played against the Leafs this season, and especially in this series, the smartest choice would be to return to the University of Maine product on Saturday. And there’s also an extra day of rest between Games 3 and 4, which should help Swayman.
Boston has a chance to take a 3-1 series lead in Game 4. You need your best goaltender starting in that scenario.
