Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 5th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Boston Bruins are set to pursue their third consecutive shutout on Tuesday night as they travel to face the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Sunday, the Bruins secured a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken at home, with Jeremy Swayman making 23 saves. This followed a 3-0 win on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, where Joonas Korpisalo stopped 20 shots. These shutouts come after a stretch of five losses in six games for the Bruins.
According to Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, "Our team still needs to mature in terms of game management, but we are currently winning games. When you have goalies playing at the level they are, it's a positive step forward. We are definitely heading in the right direction and November has been a much better month for us compared to October."
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The Maple Leafs have suffered back-to-back losses on the road, falling 2-1 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday and 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly commented on Sunday's game, saying, "Obviously, it wasn't a high-scoring game, but that's okay. We want to get comfortable playing in these types of games. It's unfortunate we didn't get the extra point, but we are making progress in the right direction."
The Maple Leafs have struggled to find consistent scoring this season, with only two goals or less in six of their 13 games.
Their lone goal on Sunday came from William Nylander on the power play. Toronto has only converted on 4 of 40 power play opportunities this season, a 10% success rate. Last season, they were much more effective with a 23.9% success rate on the power play. Additionally, they have only scored one power play goal on the road this season out of 20 attempts.
Auston Matthews, who led the league with 69 goals last season, has only scored five goals so far this season.
However, the Maple Leafs did receive strong goaltending from Anthony Stolarz on Sunday, who made 31 saves against the Wild.
Stolarz commented on the team's performance, saying, "We were committed to playing a physical game and blocking shots to limit their scoring chances."
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The Bruins will look to continue their recent success, but Montgomery is still seeking more consistency from his team.
He stated after Monday's practice, "I'm not satisfied yet. To be honest, there are still too many lapses in our game. We are not playing a full 60 minutes. We need to keep improving. We are better, but we still have a ways to go."
Montgomery is not afraid to make a statement, as he benched one of his star players, David Pastrnak, in the third period of Sunday's game.
When asked about the decision, Montgomery simply replied, "It was a coach's decision in the third period. That's all I will say about it."
Pastrnak himself acknowledged his mistake, saying, "It was a bad turnover. I just want to move on from it and not be a distraction to the team. My teammates know how I feel about them. I take responsibility for my actions and am focused on moving forward."
The Bruins previously defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 on October 26th in Boston, with Brad Marchand scoring the game-winning goal in overtime.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Recap NOV 5TH 2024
Morgan Rielly had a goal and two assists, Anthony Stolarz earned his first shutout of the season and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Stolarz made 29 saves to pick up the ninth shutout of his career.
William Nylander and Matthew Knies each added a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who had lost their previous two games. Steven Lorentz also scored, while Mitch Marner added two assists.
The teams have split two meetings this season, as Boston came away with a 4-3 victory in overtime back on Oct. 26.
Goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 shots for the Bruins, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end. Boston had outscored opponents 5-0 during that brief stretch.
Toronto played without forward Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) but still managed to end an eight-game regular-season losing streak against Boston that dated back to January 2023.
Neither team scored during a competitive first period.
Boston defenseman Andrew Peeke (upper-body injury) left the game in the first after crashing into the end boards and did not return to the contest.
Toronto took the lead on two consecutive power-play goals in the second period. Rielly scored his fourth goal of the season on a shot through traffic from the point at 8:44. Nikita Zadorov was serving an interference penalty.
Nylander scored his 10th marker of the season at 9:58 when his shot from a sharp angle was deflected into the net by Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo. David Pastrnak was off for high-sticking.
Stolarz was strong in the third period and got some help when Boston's Hampus Lindholm hit the crossbar with a shot at 9:08.
Knies tipped Nylander's shot for his seventh goal of the season at 14:13 of the third during a power play.
Lorentz scored his third tally of the season into an empty net at 15:58.