Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron Back on the Ice, Questionable for Game 5

With Patrice Bergeron out for the Bruins Thursday night, the Leafs had a tremendous opportunity to even the series up at two games apiece heading back to Boston to accompany the return of center Nazem Kadri from his three-game suspension.

He also gave up three goals on five shots before getting pulled in Game 2, surrendered two suspect efforts in Game 3, and has a.880 save percentage in the series compared to Tuukka Rask’s mark of.926. He stopped a Mitch Marner breakaway in the second and thwarted Patrick Marleau with a great pad save on a 2-on-1 in the first for two highlights. Kadri drew a three game suspension for driving Bruins’ right wing Tommy Wingels head first into the boards at 8:18 of the third period of Game 1 on April 12.

“It doesn’t seem to matter, we have good wingers to play with”.

The Leafs gave themselves and their fans hope with a Game 3 victory on home ice, as well as the chance to tie the series on Thursday night.

“On the road you’re gonna need a little extra at some point”.

Early on, Rask went behind the net to play the puck, but mishit the pass and was somehow able to recover in time to stop an early Leaf scoring chance. “They’re fast with the transition, catch you in between, so we were very mindful of that, tried to be cognizant of our line changes, where we put pucks on the forecheck, and limit their chances”. It’s a good formula. “Tonight we needed him to dig in and he did”.

Oshie made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 9:19 of the second period after shots from John Carlson and Ovechkin.

The Bruins stunned the Maple Leafs just 28 seconds 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. A win means it’s on to the second round of the playoffs. “I disagree with the three games but I’m just going to move forward now”. This is exactly what the B’s got and quelled the Leafs momentum. He was originally drafted in the 2nd round, 45th overall of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins. Instead of moving their feet, they were left firing puck after puck from the point into the Bruins’ shin pads. The Leafs ended up tying it up just over seven minutes later, but Brad Marchand added the game-winner in the middle frame. I can tell you pretty much, If he’s cleared to play, he’ll be in the lineup. “You always find the energy for that somehow”. “I’ve said that all along. We’ve been a confident group all year – I think that’s been our strongest asset – so I don’t think we’ve ever doubted ourselves”. “But I saw the bounce and luckily it worked out for us”.

Given Bergeron’s importance – he’s the driving force of the best line in hockey, plays in every situation possible, and has been asked to be a shutdown force against the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews – and with all due respect to replacement-on-the-fly Riley Nash, this could have and should have been a total backbreaker for the Bruins. The Leafs never recovered.

Babcock, in an enthusiastic mood on Friday in the face of what appears to be an insurmountable task for his team, gladly will welcome Kadri back. “And he’s been great for us when he’s been in that position”.