Bruins vs. Leafs 2024 – NHL Playoff Summary

To summarize the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs first round matchup in the 2024 NHL playoffs, I can only think of the following:

We Laughed. We cried. We hurled.

That was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, wasn’t it? Eh? So indulge me while I summarize…

Game 1: Who’s playing goal in Boston? More specifically, the main storyline was – who is getting the start in Boston? Will it be Jeremy Swayman? Will it be Linus Ullmark? Will they do the tandem thing like they did all year, or will they ride one goalie until they lose? Will I ever see my feet again? Sorry. Wrong group. I just know Jenny Craig is a fan.

It was Jeremy Swayman who ultimately got the start, and he was outstanding. Game 1 was a faaakin’ bloodletting, kid. Boston won 5-1, and it wasn’t even close. Patrick Maroon was proving why the Bruins went and traded for a 35 year old with a bad back. Trent Frederic got an ENG, so all the Goonblog favorites were involved. Hell, even Toronto’s Ryan Reaves got a regular shift. Things were testy, and it looked like Maroon and Reavo might have to slug it out in game 2 to calm things down.

Game 2: Second verse, same as the first. Who is playing goal for Boston? Will they keep with the tandem? Swayman was excellent. Will they ride the hot hand?

Linus Ullmark got the start in goal, and it was clear Bruins coach, Jim Montgomery, didn’t want to repeat last year’s epic collapse. Or at least, face the same criticisms he did for last year’s epic collapse. By sticking with the tandem that got them here, at least he wouldn’t have to hear the old, “why did you get away from the tandem that got you here” line all season. More on epic collapses to follow. And this is the hurl part.

Ullmark was good in the 3-2 loss. Everyone expected to get the Leafs best game, and that’s exactly what they got. Boston got it going early, and the Leafs just kept in it. It was 2-1 Boston after two, but the Leafs got goals in the second and third and it was the difference.

Game 3: Guess what the storyline is? If you guessed “who is playing goal in Boston?”, you’d be correct. As the series shifted north, tied at a game apiece, both teams had to have some confidence. Boston was outstanding and dominated again. Toronto gave Boston their best game and came home with a split.

Well, it was Swayman in goal and after a fairly evenly matched first two periods, the Bruins exploded for 3 goals in the third. Freddy Fisticuffs had a goal, and Brad Marchand had 2 for the Bruins to lead the way. Jake DeBrusk added the fourth goal, and it looked like the Bruins were taking control of the series.

Game 4: It’s Swayman in goal for Boston, and they dominated. Toronto couldn’t go down 3-1 in the series to Boston, and they didn’t play well enough to avoid that very fate. Brad Marchand became the Bruins’ all time leading goal scorer in the playoffs, and Boston chased Toronto starting goalie Ilya Samsonov. Joseph Woll took over in net and stopped the 5 shots he faced. Boston won 3-1, handily.

Game 5: Maybe now the Bruins will rest Swayman and put Linus Ullmark back in goal? Coming home feeling incredible after the dominating performance north of the border, the Bruins were looking to close out the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice.

All kinds of articles were being written about the fate of the Leafs when they lose, and a lot of people in the media were pretty resigned to the fact the Leafs were losing game 5. Maybe some home cooking is what the Leafs needed to get an advantage in the series. A little white vinegar in the tank at least. Whatever it was…

This is where we start hurling. And not because we prefer cider vinegar – we fuckin’ don’t.

If any team can give up a 3-1 series lead, it’s Boston. They did it last year in the first round, and I for one was not comfortable with everyone writing off the Leafs.

So, Boston is looking to close out a series, and Auston Matthews isn’t playing due to a serious case of the trots. Normal teams capitalize on this and bury their opponent. Not our beloved Bruins. They play what can only be described as a steaming pile of trots. If Toronto was any good, they would have won 56-1. Thankfully Jeremy Swayman is awesome and kept Boston in the fray. Sadly, the Bruins lost 2-1 in OT.

Game 6: Are the Bruins going back to Ullmark after Swayman has lost? Also, remember last year when the Bruins lost the series to Florida? Remember how they lost in OT in game 5? Hurl. Hurl everywhere.

Swayman starts. Surely the Bruins can’t play as bad as they did in game 5? Game 6 Bruins: Hold my beer.The first period may have been the worst period of hockey I have ever seen Boston play. They managed 1 shot in the first 20 minutes, and that’s only because a Jake DeBrusk dump in happened to hit Joseph Woll.

Woll was a wall for Toronto again. He was superb on game 5 and was becoming the new storyline for the series. Again, if Toronto was any good, it would have been a way more lopsided score.

Game 7: Surely the Bruins are going to start Linus Ullmark. While Swayman has been excellent, he has lost 2 in a row, and the Bruins are facing elimination. The Bruins can’t possibly give up a 3-1 series lead in eerie fashion two years in a row.

Apparently, Joseph Woll hurt himself in the last second of game 6 trying to preserve a shutout and won’t play. Auston Matthew is back from the trot-sharts, and an apparent undisclosed injury, and will play. There were a million storylines coming into this game 7.

Jeremy Swayman got the start and was outstanding. The game was 0-0 through 2 and a half periods. When William Nylander scored late in the third, collectively, I think every Bruins fan hurled, and then said, FUCK! Not again.

Enter nefarious Bruins defenseman, Hampus Lindholm. He had been invisible this series – and sounds like an Arthur Conan Doyle villain. Along with Pavel Zacha, and Charlie Coyle for the Bruins, they were all on milk cartons. “The game was not afoot”, Sir!

Lindholm’s wrist shot banked in off of Ilya Samsonov’s arm and in, and there was new life in Boston! They were still alive.

Game 7 was headed to overtime. It’s a good thing I quit drinking a while back, because there wouldn’t have been enough Jameson in the world to calm my nerves. I didn’t like the next goal wins feeling, and it was exactly how last year went. Hurl.

David Pastrnak had been called out by Bruins coach Jim Montgomery after game 6. Monty was right to call him out, as Pasta was so bad, I was questioning his sobriety. He was like Bambi on ice. Falling everywhere. Being more of a turnover machine than usual. He needed to do something.

So, at 1:54 of OT when he took a puck off the end boards that Hampus Lindholm (exceeding even Moriarty) had dumped perfectly, collected it on his backhand, took a step and lifted it over the sprawling Samsonov to win the game – I’d say he answered the call.

So, the Bruins are off to round 2 against the Florida Panthers. The Leafs suffer yet another heartbreaking loss in the first round, and have a ton of questions to answer about their group as a whole.

It was a hell of a series that the Bruins made way harder on themselves. If they want to advance any further than the second round, they have some things to work on. Film at eleven.