Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand delivered again, and the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Marchand finished with a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak lit the lamp. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves and got a ton of help from his teammates, who blocked 26 shots.
Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Postgame:
CLUTCH: It seems like only a few days ago, there were plenty in the media and plenty of fans saying that Brad Marchand was a no-show in this series. The funny thing was, Marchand still had three assists through the first two games of this series and was already slowly cooking up dinner in the collective kitchen of the Maple Leafs. Since then, Marchand has three goals and two assists and has absolutely taken over this series. He has knocked Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi off their game by not biting on their silliness and has clearly motivated his team as a true captain does. Marchand’s powerplay goal that put the Bruins up 2-0 8:20 into the second period made him the all-time leading playoff scorer for the Bruins with 56 lamplighters in the postseason.
Brad Marchand
Last 20 playoff games
14 G – 18 A – 32 PTS
Just piling up the numbers
Would equate over a season to..
56 G – 72 A – 128 PTSpic.twitter.com/zfRZEXifD9
— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) April 28, 2024
DOGHOUSE: Bruins fans are probably thanking him, but Maple Leafs forward Max Domi is in the doghouse here because he can’t seem to figure out that he is not anywhere close to the master pest that Marchand is. Once again Domi tried to get Marchand to bite and do something off the opening faceoff, and once again, Marchand just literally smiled at him. From there on, Domi was trying to lure the Bruins into shenanigans all game long, and at 7:23 into the second period, he took the cross-checking penalty that led to Marchand’s power play goal. Maple Leafs head coach would be smart to reel in Domi now because no matter how hard he tries, he will never be Marchand or, better yet, his Dad and legendary pest Tie Domi.
BANGER: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin led all skaters with nine hits.
UNSUNG HERO: Jeremy Swayman could’ve been the choice here or for the clutch player, but he’s been a regular in each start, so let’s look at David Pastrnak . Yes, the Bruins star winger hasn’t exactly been getting off a ton of shots and/or scoring – just one goal heading into Game 4 – but he’s been playing great two-way hockey. That paid off for Pastrnak, who had three hits, one blocked shot, and reeled off four shots on net, with his third leading to his second goal of the series.
"THE LEAFS ARE SHAKING ON THE BRANCHES!!"
Jack Edwards with an ALL-TIME call on David Pastrnak's goal
pic.twitter.com/qixfbj4iyv
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 28, 2024
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Bruins 5 Maple Leafs 1
Game 2: Maple Leafs 3 Bruins 2
Game 3: Bruins 4 Maple Leafs 2
Game 4: Bruins 3 Maple Leafs 1
Game 5: TOR @ BOS, April 30 (NESN, ESPN)
Game 6: BOS @ TOR, May 2* (TBD)
Game 7: TOR @ BOS, May 4* (TBD)
Boston Bruins Lineup
Forwards
Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Morgan Geekie
Jake DeBrusk – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk – – Trent Frederic – Danton Heinen
John Beecher – Jesper Boqvist – Pat Maroon
Defensemen
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon – Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalies
Jeremy Swayman
Linus Ullmark
More must-reads:
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