Recap: Sean Kuraly leads the Bruins to a big win over Toronto

We’ve got Streamables today, so if you don’t see the highlights, it might be because you’re on mobile. Click the score link at the end of each sentence.

David Krejci unleashes a slapshot, something he’s been doing more of this season, and beats Michael Hutchinson late in the first. 1-0 Bruins.

This was a weird one. It looked like Tuukka Rask stopped Andreas Johnsson’s shot, but when it hit the ice, either backspin or a skate trickled it through Rask’s five-hole. 1-1 tie.

Generally, it’s not a great idea to leave a goalscorer all alone, with no one within about 10 feet. Mitch Marner makes the Bruins pay on the PP. 2-1 Leafs.

Guess who? Sean Kuraly takes a great pass from Chris Wagner and beats Hutchinson to make it a 2-2 tie.

In the last minute of the second, a tenacious forecheck from Kuraly led to a centering pass to David Pastrnak, who didn’t miss. 3-2 Bruins.

That’s it for scoring! The Bruins did a pretty good job shutting down the Leafs for the majority of the third period, holding off a late flurry to earn the win.

Game notes

• That was a fun one! High-energy, fast pace, Saturday night...NOT BAD.
• Leafs and the Toronto media seem to think the Leafs deserved a better fate tonight, mainly due to shot attempts and high-danger chances. However, the Leafs are a complete disaster without the puck. They got hammered on the forecheck by the Bruins all night, and seemed to bail on dump-ins later in the game. The Leafs seem to have a different compete level in the offensive zone than they do in the neutral zone or defensive zone. Maybe it’s a youth thing, or maybe they’re just not buying in defensively yet. But they’ll need to tighten things up if they hope to make noise in the spring.
• Charlie McAvoy looked pretty good in his first game back. He threw a big hit on Marner, was active with the puck, and led more than a few rushes up ice.
• Sean Kuraly continues to impress. There’s been some talk of the Bruins moving him up in the lineup, but it seems like it’d be nuts to break up that fourth line right now. Chris Wagner, Noel Acciari and Kuraly have something good going right now. Their forecheck caused all kinds of problems for Chicago in the Winter Classic, and was giving the Leafs trouble last night. Best to leave them be and let Kuraly continue to do his thing.
• Rask was solid again tonight, making a number of big saves. The Johnsson goal was weird, as it seemed to take a wonky bounce. At one point, Rask made a breakaway save and a 2-on-1 save...while the Bruins were on the same power play. Rask has been on a great run in his last five games, and with Jaroslav Halak coming back to Earth a bit, it might be a good time to run with Rask for a while.

The Bruins are back at it tomorrow night, with Montreal coming to the Garden. Go Pats!