This mission has been completed consistently, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now turning the page in the playoffs. Next? Just twice a Stanley Cup defender. William Nylander scored twice as Toronto beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 in a regular season final that saw both teams resting most of their stars. “Strange game with the coach,” Keefe said. “Your bench is weird. Children are playing in different places. You try to do well in the game, but you try not to use the children too much. “I was watching the ice time more than I was watching the ice game to be honest. It was a weird game this way, but the kids did a good job.” With the victory, the Leafs secured that they will face Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, while the Bruins are going to meet the Carolina Hurricanes. “Back-to-back champions, one of the best teams in the league,” Nylander said of Toronto’s next opponent. “It will be a difficult series, but it will be a good battle for us.” Ilya Mikheyev, Nick Abruzzese, with their first goal in the NHL, and Pierre Engvall, in an empty net, also scored for Toronto (54-21-7). Erik Kallgren makes 24 saves. The Leafs’s 115 points in the standings are 10 more than the previous franchise record set in 2017-18, while these 54 wins are also a high level. “It can be a difficult game,” Toronto striker Jason Spetza said on Friday. “It does not feel normal.” Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk responded for Boston (51-26-5), which took 22 stops from Jeremy Swayman. Craig Smith had two assists. “You want to play every game you can,” said Bruins center Charlie Coyle. “Regardless of what night it is, who you play with, you want to be in the starting lineup and have an impact.” Having already locked in the No. 2 seed of the Atlantic Division, the Leafs rested Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares in front, while No. 1 goalkeeper Jack Campbell served as a backup. The Browns, meanwhile, were excluded from Patrice Bergeron, David Pasternak, Brad Marshand and Taylor Hall. Charlie McAvoy remained in defense. The combined absences from both clubs reached almost $ 73 million in dollars with a salary cap. Playing the second from behind with his back, Boston still had a chance to catch Tampa for third place in the category and a shot against Toronto in the first round, but will finish as the first wilderness of the Eastern District. . “We did what we wanted to do,” said Leafs defender Morgan Rielly. “We are in a good spot to get out of here and use the next two days to prepare for some important hockey.” The Bruins scored 70 seconds into the opening game of a game that had a sense of accomplishment when Frederick scored his eighth goal of the season over Kallgren. Toronto responded at 3:51 in the power play after Boston’s Marc McLaughlin was awarded a four-minute penalty kick when Mark Giordano’s shot fell over Mikheyev in front for the 21st of 2021-22. The Leafs took the lead at 13:16 when Nylander stole the elf from McLaughlin and ran it to Swayman alone before adding a set of goals to his career with his 33rd goal. Dressed for his ninth game in the NHL after signing with Toronto after completing his college season in the US in late March, Abrozese scored his first NHL goal in a fine diversion of a Rielly shot with 6.7 seconds left. for the period. “I felt very good,” Aburzzese said. “I had some chances in the previous two games. “I’m glad he’s coming in.” Rielly has been impressed with how the 22-year-old former Harvard player has thought about the game since arriving in Toronto. “He’s not too big or scary,” Riley said with a small smile. “But he does a good job and wins a lot of battles and plays right.” The Bruins started throwing their weight in the second, but there was not much emotion until late, when Tomas Nosek crossed Toronto defender Timothy Liljegren from behind in the tables. Rielly responded by fighting for a while with the Boston striker for a small penalty before Nylander scored his 34th eighth minute in the third. Nick Foligno, an acquisition from Toronto at the trade end of last season, blocked a foot with 9:36 remaining in the regulation in a series that was rightly challenged for offside. DeBrusk eventually made it 4-2 with his 25th with 7:11 remaining in regulation, but Kallgren closed the door from there before Engvall scored his 15th in an empty net. “We have 82 games in the books,” Keefe said. “Now we have to really play.” Notes: The Leafs have a home ice advantage for the first time since 2004 – the last time they won a playoff series … Toronto has never played Tampa in the playoffs … The Bruins eliminated the Leafs in seven games in the first round in both 2018 and 2019. This Canadian Press report was first published on April 29, 2022.
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