Boston Bruins: B’s dominate the Maple Leafs in game one victory

The Boston Bruins were able to get the lead on Thursday night and once they did they never looked back.

What a way to start the playoffs. After the Boston Bruins limped into the playoffs with a terrible final week, fans were starting to get nervous. Would they fall apart like they did last season? Well, the Bruins showed that last week meant nothing. They came out on fire and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 and lead the series 1-0.

Goals, goals, and more goals

There is no need to worry about the Bruins offense. They got production from all four lines on Thursday night. Brad Marchand kicked off the scoring just five minutes into the first period. Marchand was able to get behind the defense and then unleashed a beautiful backhand to give the Bruins the lead.

Even though the Bruins got production from all four lines, the first line continued to dominate. As a group, they had two goals and four assists. The other goal was scored by David Pastrnak. “Pasta” rifled a wrist shot past Frederik Andersen to put the Bruins up 3-1. If these guys can maintain the scoring the Bruins will be a hard team to beat.

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Another impressive goal was scored by Sean Kuraly. The 4th liner made a great effort to stay with the puck and he was rewarded. Zdeno Chara made a great outlet pass to Pastrnak who was able to get behind the defense. “Pasta’s” shot rang off the post, but Kuraly stayed with the play and was able to whack the puck out of mid-air and into the net.

Now I don’t think the Bruins will be scoring five goals every night, but it appears that their offense is ready to dominate the playoffs.

Nazem Kadri is a goon

It only took one game for Bruins fans to find someone to hate, and that person is Nazem Kadri. I don’t know what Tommy Wingels did to the guy, but it seemed like Kadri was going after him. First Kadri was called for a boarding penalty as he hit Wingels behind the net and then four minutes later this happened.

Now did Wingels deliver a hit to Mitch Marner, yes, but no hit deserves a response like Kadri’s. Kadri left his feet against a defenseless skater, who was down on the ice and slammed him head first into the boards. That was one of the dirtiest hits I’ve ever seen.

We saw Drew Doughty get suspended for a much lesser hit, so Kadri may be out for a few games, but then again the NHL Player Safety Department is as consistent as the weather here in Boston.

Rask answers the call

Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots on Thursday night in a solid game for the goaltender. He made some big saves especially when the Bruins were on the penalty kill. If Rask can play like this and only allow a goal a game the Bruins will be golden.

This is a great way to start the series, but the Bruins have to put the pedal to the metal. They can’t rest on the laurels after one playoff victory. The Bruins need to come out on Saturday and play just like they did in game one.

Next: Boston Bruins: Slight changes to the lines for game one

The Bruins are back at it again on Saturday, and after the shenanigans on Thursday night, it will be interesting to see how the Bruins respond.