Game Review: Maple Leafs concede cheap early goals, Anthony Stolarz struggles in loss to Boston

"While the Boston Bruins won five straight entering this game, they were without Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, and they still managed to claw out a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs. A lot happened over the 60 minutes, but the underlying story is that an undermanned Bruins team outworked a fairly healthy Leafs team, costing Toronto two points. The Leafs have been searching for better starts, and at the very start of this game, they momentarily found one."

"The top power-play unit didn't do much with it, but after the second unit gained the zone, Nick Robertson and Max Domi played pitch and catch. Robertson took possession on the half-wall and passed it down low to Domi, who pulled up high as Robertson rolled to the net, finding a soft spot for Domi to zip it through to Robertson for a deflection into the net."

"After seven straight games of giving up the game's first goal, the Leafs finally scored first, and for once, it felt like they wouldn't be chasing a game. That feeling didn't even last a minute; Boston not only tied it 18 seconds later but then took the lead 20 seconds after the 1-1 goal. Particularly frustrating for the Leafs is that it came against their fourth and third lines on successive shifts, and each involved bad mistakes."

"On the first goal, Morgan Geekie skated freely through the neutral zone, leading to Boston gaining the zone cleanly with speed at five-on-five. Geekie took a pass in stride, double-clutched after missing his shot at first, and still had ample time and space to reload because Morgan Rielly didn't gap up properly. As the Bruins gained the zone, look how far back Rielly already sagged, while covering nobody in the process:"

The Boston Bruins, without Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. The Leafs produced an encouraging opening shift and a second-unit power-play goal when Nick Robertson redirected a Max Domi feed. After seven games of conceding first goals, Toronto scored early but surrendered two quick goals as Boston responded within seconds. The comeback stemmed from breakdowns against Toronto's lower lines, including Morgan Geekie exploiting neutral-zone space and Morgan Rielly failing to gap up properly, resulting in defensive lapses and momentum swings that favored Boston.

Read at Maple Leafs Hotstove