Trapping Bruins Stifle Leafs

Trust the Boston Bruins to snap the Maple Leafs four game winning streak. Now in three meetings with the Maple Leafs so far this season, the Bruins have made beating them a habit – each time doing it with a different goaltender: Tim Thomas in the first win, former Leaf prospect Tuukka Rask in the second, and newly acquired Alex Auld last night. Dating back to last season, the Bruins have won eight of the last eleven meetings with the Maple Leafs.

Jason Blake got the Maple Leafs off to a good start scoring midway through the first period on a shot that beat Alex Auld low to the short side, a goal reminiscent of a Joe Nieuwendyk marker against Patrick Lalime in game seven of the Maple Leafs vs Senators series in the 2004 NHL playoffs. This game though would not hold the same outcome for the Maple Leafs as the Bruins tied the game on a goal by Chuck Kobasew just two minutes later.

In the second period, Dennis Wideman gave the Bruins the lead after Brandon Bochenski beat Darcy Tucker in a battle for the puck along the boards and got it to Wideman at the point. His shot eluded a screened Vesa Toskala who made eighteen stops on the night.

Once in the lead, Boston employed a stifling version of the trap in which they clogged the neutral zone with four skaters and made it difficult for the Maple Leafs to complete a pass, much less generate any kind of speed. For much of the final half of the game, it seemed like Claude Julien was still coaching New Jersey as the Bruins used a defensive system that is now synonymous with Devils’ hockey.

Even before taking the lead, the Bruins sat back and did not pressure the Maple Leafs offensively until Toronto made a mistake. Both Bruins goals were generated as a result of Maple Leaf defensive miscues, not pressure from Boston.

The Maple Leafs will conclude their brief two game home stand on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning before heading out on a seven game road trip.