Bruins’ courageous Game 3 laid out blueprint for success against Leafs

The Maple Leafs have apparently learned their lesson this season.

Of course, Toronto’s claim as a viable contender is always bolstered by a high-octane offense fueled by elite talents like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.

But after years of unsuccessful playoff campaigns, Brad Treliving has made a concerted effort to prepare his team for playoff hockey in 2024. Up front, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi have provided play in the top six roles, while Ryan Reaves has distributed numerous roles. welts (and straight hooks) on the control unit.

On the blue line, muscle was prescribed in the form of 6-foot-5 Joel Edmundson, Simon Benoit (245 hits) and Ilya Lyubushkin (168 hits).

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. At least, when it comes to first-round meetings between the Leafs and Bruins, apparently.

Because on Wednesday night, Boston’s 4-2 victory in Game 3 followed a familiar script: The Bruins pummeled an ultra-talented but deeply flawed roster — and a pained Scotiabank Arena crowd once again silenced by the best heel in hockey, Brad Marchand.

“I guess I witnessed it firsthand,” Jim Montgomery said of Marchand’s performance Wednesday. “But I love watching hockey. And even though I wasn’t coaching in the NHL, I was watching him and (Patrice) Bergeron and what the Bruins were doing because they’ve always been an elite team. And he always rises to the big moments.

Marchand’s two-goal burst in the third period and his continued harassment of former teammate Tyler Bertuzzi will naturally make headlines after Boston’s road triumph.

But the Bruins built a 2-1 series lead by capitalizing on several critical deficiencies present in Toronto’s top lineup.

As evidenced in Game 2, Matthews and Toronto’s offense can decimate even the stingiest defenses on a given night, especially in 5-on-5 play.

But Boston still holds a sizable advantage over its Original Six foe when it comes to special teams and goaltending — and it might not be particularly close.

Look no further than Wednesday night, where a sweet, short goal given up by Ilya Samsonov gave Boston new life in the second period of play.

Although Samsonov made a few timely saves in this series, he was also prone to coughing up goals like the one Trent Frederic slotted home from the left circle. A constant dose of shooting should continue to make life miserable for Samsonov, who posted an .890 save percentage in 40 regular season games.

While Samsonov got Boston back into Wednesday’s contest, Jeremy Swayman took away some of Toronto’s most promising offensive zone sequences. With a 28-save performance in Game 3, Swayman is now 5-0-0 against the Maple Leafs this season (post-season included), posting a .957 save percentage during that stretch.

Whether it’s Swayman or Linus Ullmark, the Bruins should hold a decided advantage in net throughout this series – especially with Swayman playing at this level against a high-scoring Toronto team.

Boston’s strong play in net has been reflected in the special teams games, with Toronto’s power play now going just 1 of 11 in three games.

“Well, our goaltending was really good,” Montgomery said of Boston’s 5-for-5 shorthanded performance in Game 3. “For example, Toronto has a lot of opportunities. We’re doing a good job in a lot of areas, but they’re still going to have their chances, so you need a good goalie.

Boston and Toronto have both scored five goals at 5-on-5 so far in this series, but the Maple Leafs hold a sizable advantage in actual scoring chances (78-48) through three games and 137:22 of 5-of-5 repetitions.

But that momentum didn’t carry over to Matthews and Co. when a black and gold sweater headed for the trash can. Swayman and Ullmark were the primary equalizers for Boston’s PK unit, but Toronto’s woes at 5-on-4 were in place well before their first-round matchup against the Bruins.

Heading into the playoffs, Toronto’s power play has capitalized on just nine of its last 72 opportunities (12.5%). That’s even worse than Boston’s beleaguered power play, which ran at 17.9 percent from March 2 to April 16.

But as Toronto’s power play continues to stutter throughout the playoffs, the Bruins have righted the ship in that same area – with Boston now 5-for-10 on the power play through three games against the Leafs .

“Your power play has to get you one to get you to three, maybe four (goals),” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “And then it’s a good night offensively in the playoffs against a defensive team like them and with the type of game they are. So that’s a big part of it.

“Our power play has to find ways to get one. I thought the power play went well tonight. We had some good looks around the net that we didn’t make, but we have to find a way to get them in. … Special teams, again, (was) a major factor in tonight’s game.

The Bruins still have more to give offensively, especially in 5-on-5 games. Boston has improved its physicality (168 total hits in three games), but still needs to create more on the forecheck to extend its zone time O.

But even if Toronto continues to control the game in 5-on-5 games (especially if Nylander returns from injury), the Leafs’ chances of delivering a knockout blow against Boston appear to be dwindling.

Because unless the Bruins’ excellent goaltending hits rock bottom — and Toronto’s lackluster PK unit fixes itself in record time — Boston should be able to take advantage of a talent-rich, but lacking opponent of courage in zone D.

In other words, the same old Leafs.