Toronto Maple Leafs push Bruins to brink with Game 5 victory

The Toronto Maple Leafs went into Boston and took a 3-2 series lead with a hard-fought victory at TD Garden in Game 5

The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading home with the chance to move on to the second round after beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 in Game 5.

Toronto came out of the gates hot, pushing the pace and playing with speed. The Bruins got a late power play on a phantom tripping call on Zach Hyman. However, the Leafs were able to kill it off.

The Buds continued to get into penalty trouble in the second. Patrick Marleau took a hooking minor on David Krejci before Mitch Marner went to the box for delay of game. But, once again, the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize.

Heading into the third frame, the teams were still deadlocked at zero.

With under 10 minutes to play, Jake Muzzin got the puck at the point, faked a shot, and moved in to get a better look. He then got the puck to a wide open Auston Matthews across the ice and he’d make no mistake.

Following the goal, the Bruins would challenge for goaltender interference. Despite Zach Hyman making some contact with Tuukka Rask, the call on the ice stood. During the call, Matthews buried his head, not wanting to watch the ruling. He and the rest of the Leafs exploded once the call went their way.

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The Leafs needed to defend a lead at TD Garden, something that has proven easier said than done in the past.

Matthews’ line would strike again just minutes later when Andreas Johnsson entered the zone and fired a cross-ice pass to Kasperi Kapanen, who deposited the puck into the back of the net.

Bruce Cassidy would pull Rask with over two minutes remaining in the third. At six-on-five, the Bruins would make a wild flurry to get to within a goal, but Frederik Andersen would make several key saves to keep Boston at bay. His shutout bid was ended by David Krejci, who slotted home a backdoor pass from David Pastrnak with 44 seconds remaining.

That was as close as the Bruins would come, as the Leafs would escape with the victory.

It was a great day for Toronto sports teams. On top of the Leafs’ victory, the Raptors, Blue Jays, Toronto FC, and Wolfpack all won their respective games on Friday.

In last year’s series against the Bruins, the Leafs were coming back home needing a victory to stay alive. Now, they come back to the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena with a chance to close out the series.