MacArthur returns, scores for Sens to beat Boston 3-2 in OT

Turns out, he may have had a good reason to not dial up a slap shot on Bruins’ goalie Tuukka Rask during Sunday’s game. “We were able to find a way to come out here and make it go to overtime again”.

With Krejci out, one might have expected Ryan Spooner to replace him given Spooner’s power-play capabilities and his offensive upside in a top-6 role. It was next-man-up every time. The Senators managed only five shots on goal in the third period but coach Guy Boucher dismissed the notion that his team went into a protective shell.

And just because the playoffs aren’t insane enough, the Bruins were hit with a third infraction minutes later when Colin Miller accidentally swatted the puck over the glass. Ottawa won eight of 10 games against Boston this season and all were close.

Rask said he was proud of the resolve the Bruins displayed after longtime coach Claude Julien was sacked on February 7 and replaced by interim Bruce Cassidy.

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (42-28-9-8 SU, 50-37 ATS, 40-45 O/U): Auston Matthews continued his goal-scoring surge on Friday, becoming the fourth rookie in franchise history to tally in three or more consecutive playoff games.

The adversity of the regular season prepared the Bruins to handle what was ahead. Tom Pyatt (upper body), who was hurt in Game 3 remains questionable, as does defenceman Mark Borowiecki, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2. It was Bergeron who tied it up only 1:57 into the third period on a bad change by Ottawa; Anderson gave up a big rebound and all Bergeron had to do was deposit it home to bring some life back into the Garden. They did the best they could without two important penalty killers in Brandon Carlo and Adam McQuaid because of injuries. But when all was said and done, it was a disappointing way to end the season, and they have no one to blame but themselves. “They made it really tough for us, it’s been tight games. That’s exactly what we have and it will be until the very end”. “Sure we grabbed a couple games on the road here this series, but it’s a different ball game now I think. Everybody did whatever it took to get that extra push, extra goal”.

The Bruins needed a huge double overtime victory in game five to extend the series for at least another game as the landscape shifts back to Bean Town on Sunday in another do or die situation as the Sens have their second straight potential clinching game. Maybe, if the young players had been taking too many boarding penalties and getting too into the game, it could be excused. With the way Saturday shook out, only two series remain undecided in a surprising first round. Sean Kuraly scored his first two National Hockey League goals and 19-year-old McAvoy joined the club right from the college ranks at Boston University to provide three assists while playing on the team’s top defensive pairing. Marchand, who has scored 76 goals in the last two seasons, scored just one in the series and has one in his last 26 playoff games.

“I’d say it’s a huge momentum lift for tomorrow”, said defenseman Joe Morrow, who like Kuraly is playing because of injuries to others. “I’ve just been trying to stick with it and be patient, and you know it’s slowly coming”. “(Retirement is) something everyone’s going to have to deal with one day, but I want to stretch it out as long as I can obviously”.