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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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BOSTON – Taking on the Boston Bruins for the second time in as many nights, the Maple Leafs came out on top again, beating the Bruins 4-1 to complete the weekend sweep. The Leafs have now won six straight over the Bruins, dating back through last season's sweep. Toronto moves to 12-7-0 on the season with the win, and they’re now 3-0 without top-line centre Auston Matthews in the lineup. Matthews’ status going into the Leafs’ four-day break isn’t yet known as he remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Takeaways

Flipping the script

When the Leafs and Bruins met on Friday night, it was Toronto that trailed throughout the game, from early in the second period right to the final minute of the third period. But the Leafs still managed to secure the 3-2 overtime win by staying composed and sticking to their structure. On Saturday, it was the Bruins’ turn to try and do the same. The Leafs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead less than 15 minutes in and Boston was playing catch-up until the end. Toronto’s special teams haven’t been strong of late, but their penalty kill in particular is what helped propel them to victory. The kill had given up at least one goal in five straight games leading up to Saturday night. When the Leafs were leading by one, Andreas Borgman and Dominic Moore took tripping penalties in rapid succession, giving the Bruins a 5-on-3 power play for 1:07. Toronto did a good job boxing out and blocking shots to not give the Bruins many quality chances. The penalty kill finished a perfect 4-for-4, their best showing since Nov. 1.

Tightening the reigns

The Leafs returned from a poor road trip through the Western Conference eight days ago after ceding 11 combined goals to the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues in their final two stops. Over this current four-game win streak, Toronto’s longest of the season, the Leafs have only given up eight goals in total. No longer outscoring their opponents by multiple goals, the Leafs have won two of these four games by one goal, and it would have been three by a single goal if not for an empty-netter against Minnesota. Toronto has been doing a better job on breakouts from the defensive zone and as a group they’re finally making consistent strides in puck management (they were credited with only seven giveaways on Saturday). Both James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Rielly talked about the Leafs getting some confidence and swagger back in their game, and how it’s manifesting in all three areas of their game.

Back on the board

It had been 17 games, dating back to the Leafs’ season opener on Oct. 4, since Mitch Marner last scored his lone goal of the season. He finally doubled that output on Saturday, capitalizing on a Bruins’ turnover and picking the top corner behind Tuukka Rask. It was one of two first period goals for the Leafs, a category in which they lead the league (28). Known more for his prolific playmaking abilities than lighting the lamp, Marner is second on the Leafs in assists (11) and claimed throughout the five-week goal drought to not be concerned by it. One of the major impediments to Marner scoring has been his comparatively low shot total. He ranks eighth among Leafs in shots on goal (35) and readily admits he passes up open looks for himself to feed teammates. But on Saturday he directed five shots towards the net on one power play shift alone, showing he can make more of an effort to ignore the stick-taps of teammates when he has open opportunities himself. Marner finished the night with one goal, one assist and a team-high six shots on goal

Mac attack

Curtis McElhinney’s last start, against the Kings 10 days ago, went about as poorly as any he’s played in since joining the Leafs. The Kings held a 5-0 lead before the Leafs really seemed to get their legs under them, and McElhinney knew he wouldn’t have a chance to redeem himself for a while. On Saturday he did just that, turning in a 38 save performance in a game where Toronto was outshot 39-24. He didn’t have to make many saves on high-end scoring chances in the first period, but when the Bruins started the second period trailing the Leafs, they were flying around McElhinney. In that frame he made a couple good stops on Patrice Bergeron, including when he set up Brad Marchand on a two-on-one try. Aiding McElhinney was a solid night from the Leafs’ defensive core, led by Morgan Rielly. While sound in his own end, playing with Ron Hainsey has opened up more offensive chances for Rielly and he’s taken advantage. With a goal and an assist against the Bruins, Rielly extended his point streak to four games, the longest of his five-season career.

Next game

After a busy stretch of five games in eight nights, the Leafs have a four-day break before facing the New Jersey Devils in Toronto on Thursday.