Bruins looking to finish off Maple Leafs in Game 6

BOSTON — It’s not like they’ve been left scratching their heads, wondering what on earth has hit them and what to do about it.

The Bruins haven’t defended well enough in two of the last three games. The same can be said of their goaltending, and of how they’ve started those games. Over the life of this best-of-seven series, they haven’t had much in the way of even-strength scoring depth, at least among their forwards.

For all that, the [...]

BOSTON — It’s not like they’ve been left scratching their heads, wondering what on earth has hit them and what to do about it.

The Bruins haven’t defended well enough in two of the last three games. The same can be said of their goaltending, and of how they’ve started those games. Over the life of this best-of-seven series, they haven’t had much in the way of even-strength scoring depth, at least among their forwards.

For all that, the B’s can still close out the series in Game 6 on Monday night at Air Canada Centre (7:05, NESN, NBCSN, WBZ-FM 98.5), and the Maple Leafs can’t. The hosts have the chance to force a Game 7 on Wednesday at TD Garden — an opportunity they’ve given themselves by making the adjustments necessary to recover from consecutive four-goal losses to start the series.

“That’s all playoffs are,” winger Brad Marchand said early Sunday afternoon at Warrior Ice Arena, before the Bruins flew north. “You’re constantly making adjustments to counter their adjustments.”

Marchand and linemates Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, perhaps more than any Bruins, have been targeted by Leafs coach Mike Babcock. The line accounted for 20 points through Games 1-2, which the B’s won by scores of 5-1 and 7-3. In the Bruins’ Game 3 (4-2) and Game 4 (4-3) losses, nobody on the line scored a point, and the group was a collective minus-13.

“After our first couple of games, they were playing a little harder, being a little more defensively aware — which we expected,” Marchand said. “This was not going to be an easy series.”

Then again, the Bruins know they don’t have to make things so hard on themselves. A slow start in Game 3 allowed the Leafs — still without suspended center Nazem Kadri at the time — to gain confidence, and play ahead or even for the entire game. Toronto was even better at that in Game 5 on Saturday at TD Garden, taking advantage of gaps in the Bruins’ defensive game to jump to a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes, 12 seconds.

“They weren’t nervous or apprehensive at all,” center Riley Nash said. “I think that’s a lesson we can take into the next game: They’re going to be ready to go. It’s a matter of matching their intensity.

“I think just being ready to go from puck drop will be key. We did that up in Toronto last game, and did pretty well, played 60 minutes. I think that’ll be the recipe again.”

Game 4, a 3-1 Bruins win in which Nash replaced the injured Bergeron and the temporary top line contributed two goals, was goalie Tuukka Rask’s finest hour in the series. His 31-save performance, however, followed a 4-2 loss in which head coach Bruce Cassidy found Rask “average.” He pulled the No. 1 netminder for the first time in his 58-game post-season career 11:15 into the second period of Game 5, after Rask surrendered his fourth goal on just 13 shots. The B’s erased most of the 4-1 deficit he left behind, but backup Anton Khudobin (8 shots, 8 saves in 26 minutes, 37 seconds) will watch Rask start again on Monday night.

“(Rask) is a competitor, always is,” Marchand said. “He was the first one to say (Saturday) night that he could have been better. That’s what makes him such a great goalie. He’s hard on himself, holds himself accountable, and expects to be big for his team.”

Rask would, in fact, be helped if teammates didn’t allow the Leafs to turn even-manned rushes into virtually uncontested scoring opportunities, which happened on both of Saturday’s first-period goals.

“There will be some rush defense, rush reads that we will focus on” in Monday morning’s video session, said Cassidy, adding that a change in personnel to boost team defense would be considered. And, like the players themselves, he’d like to see his second and/or third lines contribute: Rick Nash (second line), David Backes and Danton Heinen (third) don’t have an even-strength point in the series.

Realistically, the Bruins can’t expect to check every box in Game 6. They know they have to make the majority of the fixes, though, if they want to start preparing for a second-round series against the Lightning, who eliminated the Devils on Saturday.

“We’ll make some adjustments,” Marchand said, “and hopefully be better.”