Here’s how you can watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs
They say in the playoffs a team is never truly in trouble until they lose on home ice. However, for the Toronto Maple Leafs, that saying doesn’t hold up. The Maple Leafs return home down 0-2 in a best-of-seven series against the Boston Bruins where they’ve looked completely overmatched.
Toronto has been outscored 12-4 in a series many predicted would be one of the more evenly-matched series in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Next to nothing has gone right for the Maple Leafs. Key players such Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Patrick Marleau have been held pointless. Nazem Kadri still has two games to serve on his suspension for boarding Tommy Wingels in Game 1. Meanwhile, Frederik Andersen has allowed eight goals on 45 shots before pulled in Game 2.
For the Bruins, very little hasn’t gone their way. Boston’s top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak have looked unstoppable. The trio has combined for 20 points in the first two games of the series. Pastrnak has led the way with four goals and nine points. Boston has been so dominant offensively, only five Bruins who played in the first two games have failed to register a point.
Boston’s game plan from the opening faceoff of Game 1 has been clear, hit everything wearing a Maple Leaf and fire the puck on net from anywhere. The strategy has overwhelmed Toronto as the Maple Leafs have constantly been held within their own defensive zone unable to get anything going offensively.
Before the series began it was expected to be a battle between a strong defensive team in the Bruins and a high-powered offensive team in Toronto. Through two games it’s felt as if Boston is not only the team strong defensively but also the team featuring the high-powered offense as well.
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Boston’s 2-0 series lead is simply a case of the Bruins’ best players playing like they are their team’s best players. However, for Toronto their best players are still waiting to let their presence be known in the series. By comparison, Boston’s top line is outscoring the Maple Leafs’ top line by 18 points and unless Matthews and Nylander can find their game in Toronto this series might not make it back to Boston.
The one bit of encouraging news for the Maple Leafs is they could look towards the series between the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets for inspiration. The Wild lost both games in Winnipeg before returning home in Game 3 for a 6-2 victory while looking like a completely different team.
Live Stream Info
Date: Monday, April 16th
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Series Lead: Boston leads 2-0
TV Channel: NBCSN,CBC, TVAS, NESN
Live Stream: NBCSN
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Minnesota wasn’t outplayed as badly on the road as Toronto was, but the night and day difference between the Wild at home compared to on the road is something the Maple Leafs can use as motivation.
Still, after two dominating performances from the Bruins where the Maple Leafs looked lost early in both games, it’s hard to see a full turn around in Toronto’s game. Look for Boston to take Game 3 along with a commanding 3-0 lead in the series as the Maple Leafs officially find themselves in serious trouble.