[TNKNGM]

TNK BOSTON BRUINS FRANCHISE

Game #8 of Season
Boston Bruins (6-1-0) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (5-3-0)

1st Period - The Bruins got caught in their own end and were chasing the puck around with Toronto putting 4 shots on net on the opening shift and John Tavares would score on the rebound just 0:49 into the game to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. The Bruins responded a few minutes later when Sean Kuraly took a pass from Wagner on the rush and his wrist shot broke through Andersen for a goal to tie the game 1-1 with 16:38 left in the period. The Bruins would score again when Charlie Coyle hit the brakes and fired a beautiful cross ice pass to Danton Heinen who fired a rocket just inside the post to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 13:14 remaining in the period. Boston made it 3 consecutive goals when David Krejci picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, put the puck the outside to get around Dermott and beat Andersen with a move to the backhand for an unassisted goal making it 3-1 with 9:37 lef tin the period. The Maple Leafs dominated play in the final 5 minutes of the period and had some great chances but Halak came up with some big stops and a little bit of luck as Mitch Marner rang one off the post in the closing seconds and the period would come to an end with the Bruins leading 3-1 despite being out-shot 10-6 in the period.

2nd Period - Torey Krug went to the box for tripping just 1:37 into the 2nd period to put Toronto on their first PP of the game but Boston would kill it off with some solid work on the PK and the score remained 3-1. The Bruins would go on the PP with 14:02 to play in the period on a slashing penalty by Spezza and Boston would make the Leafs pay needing just 20 seconds as they won the ensuing faceoff, worked the puck around the zone to Coyle in the slot and he slid a pass to Heinen at the side of the net for his 2nd goal of the night to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead with 13:42 left in the period. Toronto would answer back less than a minute later when Cody Ceci shot through a screen beating Halak to make it 4-2 with 13:00 remaining in the period. The Maple Leafs were sparked by the Ceci goal and came right back with another one when Halak kicked out a shot by Tavares but the puck went right to Mitch Marner by the faceoff dot and Marner snapped a shot under the bar to make it a one goal game cutting the Boston lead to 4-3 with 10:23 left in the period. Things would settle down in the final 10:00 of the period and the score would remain 4-3. Chris Wagner was called for a boarding minor with 0:01 left on the clock and the 2nd period would end with the Bruins leading 4-3 after 40 minutes of play and the shots were even at 18-18

3rd Period - The Maple Leafs would begin the 3rd period with 1:59 of PP time remaining on the penalty to Wagner as they look for the tying goal and Boston was going to need a big effort on the PK to start the period. The Maple Leafs could generate only 1 shot on the man advantage as the Bruins penalty killers did a great job and the score remained 4-3 as Boston returned to even strength. The Bruins were playing with good structure early in the period as they tried to protect their 4-3 lead against the high powered Toronto attack. The Bruins would extend their lead when Chara took a slapper that was tipped by Backes in front and Andersen would make the save but Danton Heinen was right there to corral the rebound and stuff it home for his 3rd goal of the night for a hat trick giving the Bruins a 5-3 lead with 12:37 left to play. David Backes would catch Nylander with a thunderous open ice check that sent Nylander to the dressing room with an injury. The clock would tick under 10:00 to play and Toronto would make it a one goal game when Spezza set up Zach Hyman for a goal to cut the Bruins lead to 5-4 with 9:36 remaining and set the stage for what should be an exciting finish to what has been a fantastic hockey game. Halak made a pair of big stops on Gauthier with just over 6:00 to play to protect the lead and keep it a 5-4 game. The Bruins were smothering the Maple Leafs defensively and making safe plays with the puck as the clocked continued to wind down and we would enter the final 2:00 of regulation with Boston protecting a 5-4 lead. Toronto would get Andersen to the bench for the extra attacker with just under 1:00 to play. The Bruins were trying to hang on and the Maple Leafs would get a chance to tie when Bergeron was called for slashing to put Toronto on the PP with 0:20. Toronto would have a 6 on 4 advantage for the final 20 seconds with a huge offensive zone faceoff coming up. The Maple Leafs would gain possession and had a chance with about 5 seconds left when Reilly put shot on net through a screen but Halak would make the save and the puck was sitting in the middle of a huge scrum of bodies in front of the net as time expired and the Bruins hold on for a hard fought 5-4 victory

* The Bruins and Maple Leafs faced each other for the first time since Boston knocked Toronto out of the playoffs in game 7 of the 1st round last season and this game had a playoff feel to it as both teams fought hard and the Bruins would hang on for a thrilling 5-4 victory

* Both the Bruins and Maple Leafs came into this game missing star players as Boston was without David Pastrnak and Toronto was missing Auston Matthews with both players suffering from concussions

* The Bruins have now won 7 straight after losing on opening night in Dallas to improve to 7-1-0 on the season

* Danton Heinen continues his red hot start to the season as he registered a hat trick scoring 3 goals and leads the team in goals (6) and points (12) through 8 games

* Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk each picked up 2 assists for Boston

* Jaroslav Halak got his 2nd consecutive start in net for Boston and stopped 20 of 24 shots in the victory

* Frederik Andersen allowed 5 goals on 29 shots in the loss for Toronto

* John Tavares and Mitch Marner each had a goal and an assist for Toronto

* The Bruins PK unit continues their outstanding start to the season as they have not allowed a PP goal yet on the season going a perfect 25 for 25 on the PK

* The Bruins will be without Karson Kuhlman and Joakim Nordstrom for the next game as both players were banged up with injuries. Boston will call up Anders Bjork from Providence of the AHL and Par Lindholm will get back in the lineup after being scratched for all but one game so far this season. Boston will juggle the lines around with Coyle moving up to play RW on the Bergeron-Marchand line while Lindholm will center the 3rd line and Bjork will step in at LW on the 4th line.

* The Bruins and Maple Leafs will square off again in their next game in Boston for the back end of this home and home series. Tuukka Rask will get the start

Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs
Oct 19, 2019 1 2 3 F BOS (7-1-0) 3 1 1 5 TOR (5-4-0) 1 2 1 4 Three Stars Danton Heinen (BOS) 3 Goals John Tavares (TOR) 1 Goal & 1 Assist Mitch Marner (TOR) 1 Goal & 1 Assist	Team Stats Comparison BOS TOR Shots on Goal 29 24 Hits 26 23 Faceoffs Won-Lost 15-19 19-15 Penalty Minutes 6:00 4:00 Power Plays Converted 1 0 Power Play Opportunities 2 3 Time on Attack 6:15 6:50
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD TOR John Tavares (3) (Marner, Nylander) 0:49 BOS Sean Kuraly (1) (Wagner, Grzelcyk) 3:22 BOS Danton Heinen (4) (Coyle, Grzelcyk) 6:46 BOS David Krejci (3) (unassisted) 10:23 SECOND PERIOD BOS Danton Heinen (5) (Coyle, Kuhlman) (PP) 6:18 TOR Cody Ceci (2) (Marleau, Gauthier) 7:00 TOR Mitch Marner (3) (Tavares, Nylander) 9:37 THIRD PERIOD BOS Danton Heinen (6) (Backes, Chara) 7:23 TOR Zach Hyman (1) (Spezza, Johnsson) 10:24
Boston Bruins - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jaroslav Halak 24 20 83% 4.00
Toronto Maple Leafs - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Frederik Andersen 29 24 83% 5.03