TORONTO – The Bruins will close out their three-game road trip on Saturday night with a divisional showdown against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Boston will be aiming for its first win of the trip after being held to just one goal in each of their first two contests – a 3-1 loss to Washington and a 2-1 setback to the Rangers.
“Just stick with it,” interim head coach Joe Sacco said of his message to the club. “The concern level goes up if you’re generating chances, we’ve done enough of that the last two games, we’ve had some good Grade A looks. We’re just not burying them in the back of the net. They will. Those chances will go in, they don’t stay out that long. You get concerned when you’re not generating them. But for us it’s just about bearing down on our opportunities.”
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:
Opposing View
The Maple Leafs (24-13-2) enter Saturday night’s matchup tied with the Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with 50 points, which puts them six points ahead of the Bruins (20-16-4). Toronto has won two straight games, including a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Thursday night.
“It’s intense, it always has been,” Sacco said of the rivalry between the Bruins and Leafs. “We’ve played them in the playoffs I don’t how many years over the last six or seven years, it’s always a good matchup against Toronto. Nothing’s changed as far as that. They’re ahead of us in the standings now, we’re trying to climb. There’s a lot at stake every time you play these guys, it’s always a great matchup.”
The matchup will be made even tougher on Saturday as Toronto star Auston Matthews returns to the lineup after sitting out since Dec. 20 with an injury. Matthews has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games this season.
“There’s definitely some tinkering, certainly,” Sacco said when asked if the Bruins must make adjustments to their game plan with Matthews returning. “You’re talking about one of the premier goal scorers in the league right now. We have to make some adjustments accordingly.
“It gives them more depth up front…we have to make sure that our matchups are pretty tight, as best we can being on the road. But we’ve seen a lot of Matthews, we know what he can bring to their team.”
Mitch Marner paces Toronto with 51 points (13 goals, 38 assists) in 39 games, while William Nylander (23-20—43), John Tavares (19-19—38), and Matthew Knies (11-8—19) round out the club’s top five scorers.
