Tonight there are ten matches on the card in the NHL. The Boston Bruins will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the TD Garden. Last weekend both teams played eachother in Toronto. The Leafs won that match 4-3 in overtime, so they got a bit of revenge for their elimination in the first round of the playoffs by the Bruins during last season.
Bruins are playing well
9 years ago was the last time the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Last season they had the chance to win the prestigious title for the 7th time in their glorious history, but they surprisingly lost during the Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues. This defeat hit hard, but the team was nevertheless motivated to start the new season well. They won five of their first eight games and only lost in regulation against the Colorado Avalanche, who are the best team in the NHL at the moment.
David Pastrnak once again proves that he's a true sniper, scoring 9 goals and leading the Bruins too with 15 points. The Bruins top line is clicking with Brad Marchand also scoring 12 points and Patrice Bergeron with 8. Just like last season, Boston can also rely on a great defense. Opponents only found a way past Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak 18 times during the first 8 games, a GAA of 2.25.
Maple Leafs lost in overtime against the Blue Jackets
The Toronto Maple Leafs knew that the Boston Bruins had destroyed their Stanley Cup dreams in the last two seasons. So the 4-3 win in overtime against last year's finalists tasted sweet last weekend. Morgan Rielly opened the scoring against the Bruins and also was responsible for the overtime winner. It were the first two goals of the season for the defenseman, who already had nine assists to his name.
Tonight they'll play the second half of back-to-back matches as they lost 4-3 in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Toronto fell behind early in the first period, but managed to take the lead later in the game thanks to goals from Kasperi Kapanen, Auston Matthews and William Nylander. In the end it didn't turn out to be enough. The Maple Leafs find the net quite often, but they also giving up goals too easy.
Bruins are in a nice spot
The Maple Leafs play their third match in four days and second half of back-to-back matches. They'll still miss captain John Tavares and back up goalie Michael Hutchinson is likely to start. The Bruins are rested and first goalie Tuukka Rask will start in net instead of Jaroslav Halak, who played last weekend against the Maple Leafs. Rask will play his 500th game in the Bruins goals, so he'll be motivated to get a win during this milestone.
