BOSTON — Leading a series, trailing in the series … it really doesn’t matter.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, you have to play desperate hockey.
The Maple Leafs did so in Game 2. The Bruins did not.
As a result, the two bitter rivals head to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto tied at one game apiece in their best-of-7 first round series.
“We knew after Game 1 they were going to push back. It’s just kind of how the series is going to go,” Bruin center Morgan Geekie said following his team’s 3-2 loss Monday night.
“I thought we did a good job weathering the storm a bit; they just got one more than we did.”
‘Weathering the storm’ was a good way to put it, because Toronto came out and played desperate hockey from the start after falling flat in the series opener two nights prior.
Despite being outhit, the Leafs were noticeably more physical and threw a number of reverse checks (some that worked, others that admittedly missed the mark). They also won more faceoffs and played with more confidence, never wavering even after Boston had leads of 1-0 and 2-1.
When Auston Matthews caught a flip pass from Max Domi with his left hand while streaking past Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy into the offensive zone with about eight minutes left in regulation, he capped off a brilliant night (2 assists, 6 hits, nearly 70 percent of faceoffs) by pulling off a left-right-left deke and scoring on Game 2 starter Linus Ullmark. That goal gave the Buds their first lead of the series.
The Bruins had five shots on Ilya Samsonov over the remaining 7:54, including a goal mouth scramble in the final minute in which they jabbed, poked and prodded at Ilya Samsonov while trying to get the puck free from underneath him. But it was not to be.
David Pastrnak, who had taken a no-look spinaround pass from Pavel Zacha and slammed home a one-timer with less than eight seconds to go in the first period to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, did not mince words when asked about his team’s overall showing.
“I don’t think we played nowhere near as well as we can,” Pastrnak surmised.
Jim Montgomery, the Bruins coach, felt his team allowed Toronto “to get its juice” by taking a pair of penalties in the latter half of the second period — including it second too many men on the ice infraction of the evening — leading to John Tavares’ eventually tying marker 1:34 before the second intermission.
He didn’t feel his squad won enough wall battles to be able to get out of their own end of the rink successfully, and that his players weren’t in sync when they did have possession. Montgomery went on to say Boston’s ability to get grade-A scoring chances was partly because of Toronto’s defensive pressure, but also a function of his own team not being quick enough in transition to maintain the puck or get in on the forecheck.
All of these things go back to playing desperate hockey.
“I didn’t think our urgency was where it needed to be to prevail,” he said.
The momentum swings in the Stanley Cup playoffs can be an unpredictable pendulum. Fans tend to overreact after every blown coverage, every goal allowed, every game that slips away.
The players are more rational and understand they’re in it for the long haul; that nightly success comes with paying a price.
For the Bruins — who will likely turn back to Game 1 winner Jeremy Swayman in their continuing goalie rotation — that means reversing course Wednesday night in the Hockey Capital of Canada and playing with the desperation that’s required.
“Everyone knows it’s the best time of year to play hockey,” ruminated Geekie. “We just need to take a little more pride in our response in Game 3. We know it’s going to be a fun one in Toronto, especially with the rivalry.
“We’ll be ready to go.”
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Phil Stacey, the Executive Sports Editor of The Salem News, covers the Boston Bruins for CNHI Sports Boston. Contact him at pstacey@salemnews.com and follow him on X @PhilStacey_SN