NHL: Boston Bruins Bounce Back Against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuukka Time

After losing two games in consecutive shootouts and having a poor defensive performance, the Boston Bruins looked to get their game back on track.

The bright side to this five-game road trip was that they earned eight points out of a possible 10 (3-0-2).

The Bruins wrapped up the road trip at the Air Canada Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Leafs defeated the Bruins in their last meeting on the shootout back in December and the Bruins were looking to keep the lead in their season series.

First Period

The Leafs opened up the scoring much in the same style that the Bruins have been playing.  With a bad line change, Luke Schenn lifted a rebound past the blue line right at Mikhail Grabovski who was all alone in the B's side of the neutral zone and was off to the races.  Tuukka Rask did what he could, but Grabovski slipped it past Rask's five-hole to put the Leafs up 1-0.

Second Period

Rask and the Bruins seemed to settle down after that.  Nathan Horton received a pass by Dennis Seidenberg who skated to the low slot and snapped one past James Reimer's left side to knot it up at one apiece.

Later in the frame, the B's were buzzing in the Leafs' zone with Milan Lucic passing the puck to Horton who got to Marc Savard high in the slot.  Savard ripped one from the blue line and Reimer seemed like he didn't even see it coming as Savard got his second goal and likewise the Bruins' second goal to gain the lead for the first time of the game. 2-1 Bruins.

Third Period

The Leafs would not give up on the game.  Even though their record is not stellar by any stretch , they make most of their opponents earn their win and this game was no exception.

With a 2-1 ratio of 18 shots to the Bruins' nine, the Leafs put on the pressure and the Bruins and Rask were up to the task this time.

Phil Kessel, a former Bruin has yet to score a goal on the Bruins (the only time he got the puck in the net was in a shootout attempt).  In the nine games he has played thus far, could not get one past Rask.  He had some great chances, but could not capitalize on any his eight shots on goal.

The Good

The Bruins played very well defensively compared to the last game.  

The Bad

The offense continues to sputter when Rask is between the pipes.  The Bruins need to get their game going in this aspect but being the team with the fewest goals allowed in the league (85), it can be overlooked..but just slightly.

The Ugly

The Grabovski goal.  Not the goal per se, but the way it materialized.  Thankfully, for Rask, it was the one blemish in his performance and it was not even entirely his fault.

The Bruins will play back on home ice against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, January 6th.  The Wild have been struggling at the bottom half of the Western Conference Standings but have a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean"