Blood in the Water: Bruins Seize the Moment, Take Season Series from Leafs

by Cup of Chowder Staff on Dec 3, 2011 11:08 PM EST

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 03: Johnny Boychuk #55 of the Boston Bruins takes a shot to score a goal in the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 3, 2011 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

I'm sort of tired of making jokes about the Leafs withering, which means this is probably going to be a tough recap to write.

With the exception of a few shifts at opportune times after Bruins goals, Toronto looked like a team that had already made peace with losing their season series throughout the course of a 4-1 Bruins win that probably should have been a lot more lopsided.

James Reimer returned to net for Toronto for the first time in 42 days and weathered a fierce, if disorganized Bruins attack in the first period, only to be hung out to dry by his defense early in the second period, when David Krejci found a hole in the Leafs' zone and Nathan Horton threaded him a pass on the tape that the Bruins center neatly deposited stick-side.

Toronto countered on the next shift when Mikhail Grabovski beat Tuukka Rask on a goal that Rask would like to have back, but that was the end of Toronto's resistance, save for a bush-league fight with Joe Corvo that Joey Crabb initiated with a late hit with 5:30 to play in the game.

"I'm not scoring goals, so I figured I needed to do something," Corvo quipped after the game about the fight.

Rich Peverley found a crashing Chris Kelly later in the second period and, with Benoit Pouliot attracting the attention of Luke Schenn, threaded a pass across the crease that Kelly casually tapped in to give the Bruins the lead, and they wouldn't look back.

A slew of strong shifts kept the Bruins in control in the third. Three minutes into the period, after Johnny Boychuk cleaned out Tim Connolly at the Boston blue line, he got the puck from Brad Marchand and fired a slapshot from the right point that beat Reimer glove-side high.

It was his third goal of the season, and all three have come from the same spot on the same sheet of ice. So you'd think that there was something special going on with that location.

"I don't even shoot from that spot in practice," Boychuk said after the game. "I usually shoot from the left side."

Guess not, then.

Later in the period, a strong shift by the Krejci line finished wearing down Toronto, and a Nathan Horton goal with 5:24 remaining in the game polished off the Leafs for the fourth time this season, giving the Bruins the season series and sole control of first place in the Northeast Division heading into Monday's tilt with Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh.

After the game, Corvo talked about the Krejci shift that finally broke Toronto's will, but he might as well have been talking about the entire game, and maybe even the series with the Leafs this year.

"It kind of seemed like a moment where we were silently saying, 'try and hang with us,' kind of like a challenge. We knew they were tired and it was kind of like a shark when there's blood in the water."

Blood in the water, indeed.

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It was MacArthur that Boychuk laid out

Not Connolly..

by BearsandBuds29 on Dec 4, 2011 12:38 AM EST reply actions

We are awesome. That’s right. Although I do see a let down game in Winnipeg coming up after Pittsburgh the night before and 3 games in 4 nights. Hopefully we have enough legs left for that one. I say this because I will be attending only my second Bruins game in history and really don’t want to walk out of the Jets arena after a loss!

by I Love Ska on Dec 4, 2011 12:48 AM EST reply actions

That Peg game looks like it could be a serious trap game

For Horton!

by Scott Frano on Dec 4, 2011 1:13 AM EST reply actions

Maybe

I’ve watched a fair bit of the Jets since they are in my region, and that last game we played them was actually pretty close until we started taking over. I’m hoping that even if we are the slower team, our FAR superior team play will still be enough to win. The Jets have improved drastically since the beginning of the season though, so it should be a good one. Anyway, first we deal with Pittsburgh.

by I Love Ska on Dec 4, 2011 8:29 PM EST up reply actions

They do look a hell of a lot better than they did earlier in the year… they brought it the last time we played them, although once the Bruins woke up, it was all over for the Jets.

Kick his ass, Seabass!

by phonymahoney on Dec 5, 2011 1:06 PM EST up reply actions

Bit of a douchebag quote. I’m all for self-confidence, but not self-superiority. The moment you get that full of yourself is the moment shit hits the fan.

"I myself am made up entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

by Blinky on Dec 4, 2011 5:37 AM EST reply actions