Jeremy Swayman started back-to-back games for the first time in more than two months and made 25 saves to help the visiting Boston Bruins take command of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 3-1 win in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Swayman, who had been alternating starts with Linus Ullmark, won his third game of the series to improve to 6-0-0 against the Maple Leafs this season.
Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Bruins, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston. It was the 56th playoff goal for Marchand, moving him past Cam Neely for the all-time team lead.
“He has been terrific,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said of van Riemsdyk. “He’s winning races to goal lines to get possession and making a lot of great subtle plays and that’s a big-time move by a great goal scorer on that first goal.”
Mitch Marner scored and Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves through the first two periods for the Maple Leafs before Joseph Woll replaced Samsonov and made five saves in the third period.
“You can question a lot of things, you can’t question the effort,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I don’t sense any frustration. Guys are pushing each other. Guys want to win.”
Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals during the regular season, did not play in the third period due to illness, which had kept him out of practice on Friday.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 15:09 of the first period on a goal by van Riemsdyk, who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the series.
Boston rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei forced a turnover by Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves along the wall in the Toronto zone and the puck went to van Riemsdyk in the left circle. He had room to skate into the slot and slide a backhand between the pads of Samsonov.
Lohrei was playing his second game of the series after he was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League following the hand injury to fellow defenseman Andrew Peeke in Game 2.
Toronto defenseman Max Domi was called for cross-checking David Pastrnak at 7:23 of the second period and Marchand scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle on the ensuing power play to stretch the lead to 2-0 at 8:20.
Pastrnak scored off a pass from Marchand at the end of a 2-on-0 break to make it 3-0 with 42 seconds left in the second period.
Marner recovered the puck and drove to the net before scoring with a backhand from a sharp angle to cut it to 3-1 at 5:43 of the third period.
–Field Level Media