Boston Bruins: 5 takeaways from disappointing Game 1 loss against Toronto Maple Leafs

1. Speed kills

The Boston Bruins biggest problem against the Toronto Maple Leafs last postseason was dealing with their speed. It’s crazy how fast guys like Mitch Marner are, but still Boston is a quality team they should be able to handle this.

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I guess that was asking too much of them because Boston’s defense once again failed to handle Toronto’s speed. There were way too many breakaways. It’s hard to keep the puck out of the net when opposing players get all the time in the world in front of Tuukka Rask.

Mitch Marner dominated and his speed was the main reason why. He was able to cause a penalty shot (more on that later) and then score his 2nd goal of the game. Toronto was up 2-1 and things didn’t look good for Boston.

Especially in this series defenseman have to be careful. A lot of Boston’s defenseman like to get involved in the offensive zone, but they have to be smart when going for a loose puck or hopping up on the odd-man rush. Boston needs to keep Toronto ahead of them and not allow easy breakaways.

If the Bruins can’t slow Toronto down I don’t know if they will be able to win the series.