Bruins beat Leafs to grab 3-1 series lead
Capitals top Blue Jackets 4-1 to even series at two games each
Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Thursday to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk had the other goals for the Bruins, who can wrap up the Eastern Conference quarterfinal when they host Game 5 on Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. David Pastrnak added two assists.
Game 6, if necessary, would be played Monday back at Air Canada Centre.
Tomas Plekanec replied for the Leafs, who got 18 stops from Frederik Andersen.
Patrice Bergeron, part of a top line that combined for 20 points in the Bruins’ two emphatic
home victories to open the series, was a surprise late scratch
with an upper-body injury. Riley Nash took his spot between Marchand and Pastrnak.
Marchand snapped a 1-1 tie for Boston with 3:05 left in the second after the Bruins were whistled for icing. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock put his top line, centred by Auston Matthews, out hoping to pounce on a tired group, but Nash won the draw to Adam McQuaid, whose clearing attempt up the boards skipped past Toronto defenceman Jake Gardiner.
Pastrnak moved in on a 2-on-1 with Marchand, faking a shot to draw the over-aggressive Nikita Zaitsev to him before feeding his linemate with a slick pass for a wide-open net.
Boston then made it 3-1 at 4:17 of the third on another bad Toronto pinch. David Krejci blocked Travis Dermott’s shot and raced the other way on a 2-on-1 before finding DeBrusk, who beat a helpless Andersen after Roman Polak failed to block the pass across. Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 1 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and two assists, and Braden Holtby stopped 23 shots as the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Thursday night to even their playoff series at two games apiece.
Tom Wilson and Alexander Ovechkin each had a goal and an assist, and T.J. Oshie also scored for the workmanlike Capitals, who won this time in regulation after the first three games of the best-of-7 series were decided in overtime. Game 5 is Saturday afternoon in Washington.
Columbus had overcome multi-goal deficits to win the first two games in Washington. When the series shifted to Columbus on Tuesday, the Capitals prevailed in double-overtime.
This one lacked the intensity of the first three.