Another Game 4 against the Boston Bruins results in another playoff loss. In what should’ve been a rally to tie the series was instead another 60 minutes of the Toronto Maple Leafs lacking the intensity, push and will to take their game to another level in the postseason.
The Bruins stuck to their system and gave the Leafs nothing to work with offensively, handing Toronto a 3-1 loss. The Leafs couldn’t cycle the puck, couldn’t set up plays, and couldn’t stack scoring chances on Jeremy Swayman until the third period, and even those were few and far between.
Despite the Leafs outshooting the Bruins 26-22, there was not a single time where they looked to be a threat to the opposition. And as fate would have it, each of Boston’s goals had an ongoing theme of things that have been backbreakers for Toronto this series and the season overall.
Boston’s first goal came off a defensive zone turnover, giving former Leaf James van Riemsdyk the chance to score his first in the series. Brad Marchand doubled the lead in the second period, converting on the team’s second power-play opportunity of the night. David Pastrnak scored Boston’s third goal in the final minute of the second period.
Similarly to Game 1, the Leafs only scored one goal through Mitchell Marner. The ice tilted a bit in their favour, but Swayman stopped all 10 shots he faced in that final frame.
We’re going to break the model of these reports and skip the “three stars” section; I think you’d agree with that.
Player reports
B
Matthew Knies
I liked Knies’ defensive physicality, especially on the penalty kill. He had a great read in the defensive zone to cut off a pass to Pastrnak.
Morgan Rielly, Ilya Lyubushkin
The only pair to finish as pluses in this one with a combined 16 hits. Lyubushkin had the new-dad boost going with some of his offensive chances. One came after activating from the blue line and another point shot hit the crossbar. And with how porous the short-handed squad has looked, it was good to see Rielly defend a high-danger rush without taking a penalty.
Joseph Woll
He stopped all five shots he faced in the third period. I trust he’ll start Game 5.
William Nylander
The Leafs were more successful entering the zone with possession when Nylander was on the ice, and they missed that at five-on-five. Unfortunately, Nylander’s presence didn’t improve the power play. After a slip-n-slide start in the first, Nylander found his legs and got two of the team’s better looks at Swayman from driving to the net and trying to make a quick move in tight.
Joel Edmundson
Along with Knies, his physicality in the power play was a plus. He also had two scoring chances in the third within seconds of each other.
C+
Mitchell Marner
The goal was nice and saved the Leafs from being shut out on home ice in the playoffs.
The goal was what we’re used to seeing from Marner. But that doesn’t make up for his lacklustre performance. He’s getting a lot of attention, and by no means is he the only star who underperformed Saturday night.
Simon Benoit, Jake McCabe
The pair had a bit of a roller-coaster night. McCabe’s pinches led to odd-man rushes for the Bruins to pounce on.
C
Auston Matthews
There wasn’t much going for him offensively, but he was throwing his weight to stop Boston’s forecheck when the puck wasn’t finding him. Matthews finished the game with only 14:16 of ice time, and he didn’t return for the third period.
Tyler Bertuzzi
He was one of the few Leafs actively trying to get to the front of the net. It led to him getting the team’s best power-play chance — as far as location goes — and he took Swayman’s eyes away a few times for point shots.
Pontus Holmberg
The stats read zeroes for Holmberg, but the way he defended the rush after Edmundson’s pinch is a clear example of why coach Sheldon Keefe trusts him in defensive situations.
C-
Max Domi
In a series where discipline is an ongoing theme, that cross-checking penalty in the second doesn’t leave you much to be happy about, especially with Boston going on to score on it. The line didn’t have much out there and it didn’t change for Domi even after being moved to centre to replace Matthews in the third.
John Tavares
His linemates didn’t have having much going at five-on-five, and Tavares wasn’t much of a standout either. Too many plays have been ending on his stick.
Nicholas Robertson
With Nylander returning, I understand the thought process behind moving Robertson to the fourth line, but his style of play didn’t lend itself to the kind of game laid out in front of him. Space was limited, so Robertson couldn’t get many opportunities to generate shots. While he didn’t have the worst defensive mistake of his linemates, having Pat Maroon steal the puck to maintain pressure didn’t help.
David Kämpf
Speaking of styles not matching, Kämpf was better with Connor Dewar than he was with Robertson.
D
Ryan Reaves
That was a bad turnover, and it led directly to Boston’s first goal. It also ended the entire line’s usage in the first period, and they didn’t return until the 16:30 mark of the second.
Ilya Samsonov
Another lost goaltending battle. Samsonov gave van Riemsdyk a lot to shoot at on the first goal, albeit it off a turnover. The penalty kill needs to be better at clearing the puck and clearing traffic in front of Samsonov. Nevertheless, Marchand had so much room to shoot at with how late Samsonov was getting to the left.
There isn’t much Samsonov could’ve done on the third goal, but at that point, a change in goal was necessary.
D-
TJ Brodie
The veteran finally returned to the lineup after watching the first three games from the press box — three games in which the team gave up five power-play goals on 10 opportunities. Pucks and players were getting past him too often at five-on-five and although he was on the ice for the power-play goal, I wouldn’t pin it on him. That said, as the last defender back, he could’ve handled the Marchand-Pastrnak rush better.
Game score
Final grade: D-
There’s a significant and consistent difference in zone speed between the Leafs and the Bruins. When it comes to getting to pucks, getting in the way of puck carriers and getting in lanes, Boston is quicker. So many runs in the offensive zone went for naught from an extra second or two of holding onto the puck.
The Bruins understand the assignment. If they attack the carriers and take away the time to make a decision and the space to act on it, the Leafs are bottled. It’s almost as if their issues on the power play spread to their five-on-five play. They are still waiting for the perfect play instead of going to the basics. And the lack of traffic in front of Swayman is even making that strategy ineffective.
Swayman stopped nothing of significance and cruised for the rest of the game. Why? Because he didn’t have to. The Bruins kept the Leafs to the outside and forced them to settle for perimeter shots that were either blocked by a stick or easily stopped by Swayman.
What’s next for the Leafs?
Game 5 is on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET). It’s short and simple, win or, for another year, you’re out in the first round.
(Photo of Mitchell Marner battling for the puck: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)
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