BOSTON – After two playoff games, it certainly appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t hang with the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins scored the first four goals and never were in any danger of it turning into a competitive hockey game in a 7-3 Game 2 win over the Maple Leafs at TD Garden. David Pastrnak scored three goals for the hat trick, and had the first six point playoff game for a Bruins player since Rick Middleton had two goals and six points all the way back in 1983. The B’s top line now has 20 points between them in two games en route to the Black and Gold going up 2-0 in the one-sided series against Toronto.
Pastrnak opened up the scoring little more than five minutes into the game when a Torey Krug cross-ice pass deflected to him at the net, and he was able to maneuver around Frederik Andersen for the score. Four minutes later it was Jake DeBrusk on the power play slamming home a centering pass from Krug for his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal, and a couple minutes after that it was Kevan Miller throwing a shot at the net that deflected off a Leaf body in front.
Rick Nash kicked in a power play goal of his own to close out Boston’s scoring onslaught in the first period and give them a four-goal lead headed into the first intermission. Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak scored goals in the second period to get Toronto on the board, but they were sandwiched around a David Krejci strike that kept Boston with a three-goal cushion headed into the second intermission.
Again in the third James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, but not before Pastrnak had scored his second of the game that’s also his eighth point of the series just two games into the best-of-seven match. Late in the third period, Pastrnak added one more goal to give him a hat trick and a six-point game for the Bruins in another laugher at the Garden.