With one of the great rivalries in World Junior Championship history taking place just two hours down the QEW in Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs took part in their own rivalry, losing 2-1 to original six rivals the Boston Bruins on Monday.
The Leafs got the scoring started thanks to a great chip pass over the Bruins defence by Luke Schenn to a streaking Mikhail Grabovski. The 26-year old Belarussian took the puck in on a breakaway and put it through the five hole of Tuukka Rask. The goal was scored at the 14:08 mark of the first and was Grabovski's 14th of the year and his sixth in eight games. Schenn's assist was his seventh of the season and his second point in as many games. It was only the third time this season that Schenn had points in two consecutive games.
Boston would tie up the game at one in the second period, when Nathan Horton fired a shot from the slot past James Reimer and off the post and in. The goal was Horton's 12th of the year and first in ten games. Dennis Seidenberg got his 13th assist of the year on the goal, which was scored at the 7:56 mark of the second.
After the Leafs were unable to clear the puck out of their own zone, the Bruins were able to take the lead when Marc Savard fired a shot from the blue line that deflected off the arm of Francois Beauchemin then off the left post and into the back of the net. Savard's goal was his second of the season and was assisted on by Horton, for his second point of the night, and Milan Lucic for his 12th assist of the year.
With the Bruins up 2-1 after 40 minutes, the Maple Leafs had a daunting challenge on their hands. With the lead after 40 minutes, the Bruins were undefeated in 15 games. The Leafs meanwhile were 1-16-2 when trailing through two periods this season.
Boston would show why they have been so dominant with the lead, as goaltender Rask made some incredible saves and stopped all 18 shots he saw in the period to hold off the Leafs and give the Bruins the 2-1 victory.
The win was the Bruins' first in three games and improved their record to 12-5-3 on the road. The loss was Leafs netminder James Reimer's first of his NHL career as well as Toronto's sixth in eight games, and fourth straight at home.
Following the game, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson praised the play of Reimer, who stopped 31 shots on his way to earning second star of the game honours despite the loss.
"He gave us a chance to win tonight," Wilson stated at his post-game press conference. "First goal, [he] was screened, and the second goal got deflected off Beauchemin. He made a number of saves and handled himself really well."
"He's calm, and he has a calming effect on the defence." continued the Leafs bench boss.
Wilson also explained his decision to keep Reimer's status as the starting goaltender for Monday's game a secret from the media before the game.
"Well I don't want him to be bothered. Because around here, a guy wins a game and we're ready to build a statue for him. Let the poor kid just kind of relax and focus on his game, period. Like you would in every other damn city in this league except here."
With the Leafs' defencemen only accounting for seven of the team's 88 goals this season, Wilson called out his defensive unit for not contributing enough to the team's offense and their trouble getting shots on net.
"They're not joining the play the way they should be. As soon as it leaves our zone, they coast up the ice. If they move their feet and got a little bit more involved in the play as the fourth guy, they might have better results. They've got to find a way to get their shots through or on the net. We had a number where we put it out to the point , and they shot it over the net or had their shot blocked
The Leafs are back in action on Thursday as they hope to get back into the win column when they host Jaroslav Halak and the St. Louis Blues.
Bruins vs. Leafs Stats Recap
Shots
BOS: 33
TOR: 37
Shot Leaders
BOS: Zdeno Chara (5)
TOR: Phil Kessel (8)
Power Play
BOS: 0/1
TOR: 0/1
Hits
BOS: 7
TOR: 24
Hits Leaders
BOS: Gregory Campbell and Dennis Seidenberg tied (2)
TOR: Luke Schenn (4)
Blocked Shots
BOS: 18
TOR: 26
Blocked Shot Leaders
BOS: Three players tied (3)
TOR: Mike Komisarek (6)
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