The Only Thing You Need to Know About the Bruins’ Loss to the Maple Leafs
Over the five-plus seasons since he was traded to Toronto, the B’s have usually been able to keep former Bruin Phil Kessel at bay, mostly due to the shutdown defense of Zdeno Chara.
But with the Bruins captain still out of the lineup, Kessel and his Maple Leaf teammates made Wednesday a nightmare for the B’s, piling on five goals before the game even hit the halfway mark in a 6-1 beatdown of the Bruins.
Kessel netted his first goal of the game 6:46 into the first period, beating Tuukka Rask after blowing by Zach Trotman on a controversial play in which the puck may have deflected off a player on the Toronto bench.
He doubled the Leafs’ lead just 18 seconds into the second period, snapping a wrister past Rask for his second goal of the night. After Morgan Rielly made it 3-0, Kessel drew a tripping call on Seth Griffith and the Leafs’ converted on the power play to drive Rask from the game.
Kessel now has 10 goals and 11 assists in 16 games this season; he came into the night tied for fourth in the NHL in points, and the two goals moved him up to a tie for third with Tyler Seguin.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com