TORONTO — Mitch Marner had three assists and Patrick Marleau added another in his 1,600th NHL game as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2, on Monday night.
Igor Ozhiganov scored his first career goal, Travis Dermott netted his second and Frederik Andersen made 38 saves for the Maple Leafs (17-8-0). Josh Leivo and Zach Hyman had the other Toronto goals.
David Pastrnak, who had a hat trick in a 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Nov. 10, scored twice for [...]
TORONTO — Mitch Marner had three assists and Patrick Marleau added another in his 1,600th NHL game as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2, on Monday night.
Igor Ozhiganov scored his first career goal, Travis Dermott netted his second and Frederik Andersen made 38 saves for the Maple Leafs (17-8-0). Josh Leivo and Zach Hyman had the other Toronto goals.
David Pastrnak, who had a hat trick in a 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Nov. 10, scored twice for Boston (13-7-4).
Each team scored twice in a frenetic second period as Boston outshot Toronto, 18-9. With the Maple Leafs leading, 3-2, in the third, Danton Heinen hit the post for the Bruins.
Hyman added an empty-net goal with 1:35 remaining.
It was the 672nd meeting between the two Original Six teams in a rivalry that dates back to 1924.
The Bruins lost Kevan Miller late in the first period after the defenseman took a puck to the throat area off a shot by John Tavares.
“He got it in the throat so he went to the hospital for observation,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. “Right now, it doesn’t look serious, which is great news for Kevan and his family. But they’ll keep him overnight and hopefully tomorrow his breathing will be back to normal and he’ll come back and join us. … Obviously we wish him well and hopefully there’s no further damage there.
“I don’t know if there’s a timeline, if he’s back in (the lineup) Thursday, if it’s that simple,” Cassidy added. “But right now he’s out of any danger from what we’ve heard.”
Both teams were playing their fourth game in six nights.
The Bruins, who won, 3-2, in Montreal on Saturday night, had won two straight and three of four. Toronto was coming off a 6-0 win over visiting Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Marleau, a 39-year-old winger, became the 11th NHL player to reach 1,600 regular-season games. He has missed just 31 games over 21 seasons since making his debut on Oct. 1, 1997.
"Great, great human being," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said before the game.
"Hard worker, great pro, great person," he added. "So important for this team it's not even funny and I'm not even talking about what he does on the ice. He's fantastic."
Marleau's 1,600th NHL game was also the 731st he's played in a row. He got a standing ovation from the crowd after a video tribute in the first period.
Boston's David Backes had an excellent chance early on but his shot clipped the top of the crossbar. Hyman needed some early repair work after Miller's stick came apart and a piece hit Hyman in the face.
Toronto's Nazem Kadri hit the post with a backhand after being sent in alone by Dermott's stretch pass. Boston's Colby Cave hit the Toronto crossbar soon after with a shot through traffic.
Dermott finally beat Jaroslav Halak with a shot through traffic at 17:44 for his first of the season after the Bruins' top line couldn't clear the puck.
Boston, gaining momentum, outshot Toronto, 10-0, to open the second before the Maple Leafs finally registered a shot midway through the period. Pastrnak, off a feed from Brad Marchand, tied it on the power play at 3:39
The Bruins hit another post on the power play later in the second. Seconds later, with the penalty over, a freewheeling Marner found Ozhiganov cruising in from the point and his shot banked in off a Boston body at 13:06.
Pastrnak tied it at 14:22, taking Torey Krug's nifty pass to the side of the net before slotting it past Andersen to increase his season total to 19.
Leivo put Toronto ahead, 3-2, on the power play at 18:38, banging home Tyler Ennis' rebound after a rush by Marner.
Around the boards
Both teams were missing key players. Toronto was without Auston Matthews (shoulder), and restricted free agent William Nylander remains unsigned. The Bruins injury list included star center Patrice Bergeron (rib), and defensemen Zdeno Chara (left knee) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion). Sweden's Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson centered the Bruins' top line in Bergeron's absence. ... Toronto defenseman Nikita Zaitsev missed the morning skate because of illness but played anyway. ... Andersen came in with a 10-1-0 regular-season record against Boston — he is 3-3 in the postseason. His last meaningful start against the Bruins was Game 7 of the first round of the 2018 playoffs when Boston rallied to end the Maple Leafs' season with a 7-4 win.
Up next
Bruins: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.