Toronto Maple Leafs defeat Boston Bruins 5-2
Keith Aulie and Luke Schenn each scored a goal, while James Reimer made 35 saves to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
Reimer was still upbeat about Toronto’s slim hopes of making the playoffs. He said, "It's not over until it's over. We've just got to keep winning, keep taking care of our business. ... All we can do is play our best and hope it's good enough."
Joey Crabb netted a goal and assisted twice for Toronto, who have won three of their last five games. Mike Brown and Nazem Kadri both also lit the lamp for Maple Leafs, who are four points behind the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.
Adam McQuaid and Daniel Paille both found the back of the net for Boston, who have lost six of their last seven play-offs. Tim Thomas was pulled after allowing four goals on 22 shots in the loss. Tuukka Rask replaced him and gave up a goal on seven shots.
Toronto got on the board first for a 1-0 lead just before the midway mark of the opening period, as Schenn skated alone from his own zone and ripped a high wrist shot under the crossbar for his fourth goal of the season.
Boston tied the game at 1-1 just two minutes later, as McQuaid unleashed a wrist shot from the corner which deflected off the Maple Leafs’ Dion Phaneuf's skate and went into the net.
Toronto restored their lead at 2-1, just 40 seconds later, when Kadri fired a wrist shot from the left point that caromed off McQuaid’s skate and eluded Thomas. The goal was upheld after a video review.
Crabb staked Toronto to 3-1 lead in the eighth minute of the middle session and Brown pushed the lead to 4-1 just 29 seconds later. Aulie then made it 5-1 with nearly two and a half minutes to play in the second period, as he ripped a shot from below the
left circle to beat Rask.
Reimer stopped 10 shots in the final frame but was beaten by Paille, who blasted a shot with 20 seconds remaining in the game to account for the final scoring at 5-2.
Toronto Coach Ron Wilson praised Reimer after the game. He said, "You look at the Bruins’ lineup and you're going, 'Holy cow there's no holes here. Any one of their lines is capable of being dangerous. James (Reimer) made three or four great saves. The big
save was the breakaway in the second period."
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