Recap: Bruins power past Maple Leafs, 5-1, in Game 1

Jake DeBrusk netted two power-play goals and ended the night with three points to help the B’s get win No. 1.

The Boston Bruins took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ first round with a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at the TD Garden as Jake DeBrusk helped the power play strike twice.

DeBrusk ended the night with three points.

“I really liked our team discipline,” Jim Montgomery said. “I liked the execution and the emotion we played with.”

The B’s fourth line set the team’s momentum, as Jesper Bosqvist set up Johnny Beecher for the game’s opening goal and the team’s first shot of the game. Pat Maroon delivered hit after hit, including one which sent Timothy Liljegren into the Bruin’s bench.

The Bruins found themselves on a 4-on-3 penalty kill to start the second period. Successfully killing it off shifted more momentum their way for a dominating 20 minutes.

DeBrusk’s feed to Brandon Carlo for a one-timer extended their lead early in the period before DeBrusk added a pair of power-play goals to close the frame out.

The Maple Leafs attempted to bounced back and did see David Kampf find a rebound. But Trent Frederic further cushioned the Bruins’ lead with an empty-net goal.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

The Bruins opened the scoring at 2:26 of the first period.

On a 2-on-1, Jesper Boqvist fed a pass to Johnny Beecher where he put a quick shot wrist shot past Ilya Samsonov. 1-0 Bruins.

Second period:

The Bruins took a two-goal lead at 5:37 of the second period.

From behind the net, Jake DeBrusk found Carlo who threw a long one-timer on net which flew past Samsonov’s blocker. 2-0 Bruins.

The Bruins scored on the power play at 15:02 of the second period.

Jake DeBrusk circled to the top of the right-wing circle to let a wrist shot travel past Samsonov. 3-0 Bruins.

The Bruins extended their lead at 17:34 with another power-play goal from DeBrusk.

Brad Marchand dished a pass from the goal line to DeBrusk in the paint for him to tap it in. 4-0 Bruins.

Third period:

The Maple Leafs bounced back at 1:39 of the third period.

David Kampf picked up the rebound from Connor Dewar’s attempt. 4-1 game.

Trent Frederic scored an empty-net goal at 17:52 of the third period to cap off the Bruins’ win. Final score: 5-1 Bruins.

Game notes:

• One of the bigger story lines leading up to this game, and likely to continue this series, is Jim Montgomery’s goaltending game plan. He wouldn’t give a definitive answer into who gets Game 2, but said it would be hard to go against starting Swayman after the game he had.
• Swayman made 35 saves in the win. He had some big momentum-swing type of saves where the Maple Leafs could have easily came within one score in the second period. Swayman locked in especially on the 4-on-3 PK with so much open space and Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares taking shots on him.
• The Bruins’ fourth line created energy from the gate — not only from Johnny Beecher’s goal, but also their physicality. Maroon seemed to come into his own and play to his strengths.
• There were 100 hits in Game 1 — 50 from each side. Maroon led with six hits.
• Montgomery also said postgame that Maroon is a Nick Foligno type of presence — someone who is very vocal on the bench, positive and reinforce what needs to be done the next shift.
• The game was won in the second period where a few lucky bounces and posts kept the Maple Leafs off the scoreboard. One moment in particular stands out and that’s when Matthews had a wide-open net after Swayman came out aggressively to play puck. Matthews ended up hitting the post.
• The Bruins recently made adjustments to the power play and it paid off in the first game. It’s also nice to see Marchand and DeBrusk connecting on the power play and on their line. Marchand’s pass on DeBrusk’s second power play goal was so simple, but effective. Hopefully they’ll continue to keep their game simple as the series progresses.
• Postgame soundbite from Carlo: “I think we did a good job paying attention to the little details tonight,” Carlo said. “There were times where they had little pushes, but overall, we didn’t get over zealous with anything.”
• Montgomery said he felt this was Beecher’s best game in his first NHL postseason game. “The challenge not only for him, but for the entire group is, ‘can we do it again?’” Montgomery said.
• The Bruins and Maple Leafs return to TD Garden on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. for Game 2.