Swayman makes 32 saves, Bruins slow down Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves for the Boston Bruins in a 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

“It felt good to come in here and have a big bounce back game from New York and just see these guys backchecking the way they did, playing the right way for 60 minutes, that’s a big momentum game for us,” Swayman said. “Really happy with our team’s effort tonight.”

Pavel Zacha scored twice, Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak had three assists for the Bruins (36-13-14), who had lost four of five (1-1-3), including 5-1 to the New York Islanders on Saturday.

“Every divisional team you definitely give it a little bigger focus, because those are big points, and they were almost like four especially being in the same division, so those games you definitely give it more focus," Pastrnak said. "But playoffs are still 20 games or so away, so you don’t look that far ahead (to a potential matchup against the Maple Leafs)."

John Tavares scored, and Joseph Woll made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs (35-18-8), who had won nine of their past 10.

“I thought both teams played hard," Woll said. "I thought there were periods of the game we were playing very well, and at the end of the day, they capitalized on a couple of their chances, and that was the difference."

Morgan Geekie put the Bruins ahead 1-0 at 9:43 of the first period when he tapped in a backdoor pass from Pastrnak.

Zacha made it 2-0 at 12:42 with a power-play goal. He took a pass from Pastrnak, who was below the goal line, and roofed a shot blocker side from the slot.

DeBrusk pushed it to 3-0 at 5:07 of the second period when he took a pass from Charlie Coyle on a 3-on-2 rush and scored glove side from the top of the left circle.

“We had a great first period and we didn’t stop playing,” Pastrnak said. “They obviously made a push because they’re a heck of a team with a lot of skills, but we didn’t break. We bent but we didn’t break. It was a heck of a game for our group, and Swayman was unbelievable.”

Tavares cut it to 3-1 at 3:52 of the third period, shooting over Swayman’s right shoulder from the top of the left circle.

“We just made a few too many mistakes and (they were) just a little harder in certain areas,” Tavares said. “I thought they just did a little better job around their net than we did around ours. Playing against a team like Boston in games down the stretch, those are big difference-makers. Margins are very small, so I think it’s a good lesson for us today.”

Zacha responded to make it 4-1 at 10:35. He chipped the puck in from the right post after Pastrnak's wraparound pass hit the skate of Timothy Liljegren.

“They defended their net a lot better than we defended ours here,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “The quality of chances I thought that we gave up were more challenging than theirs.”

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Zacha, who did not take line rushes at the morning skate, was not expected to play after leaving the game on Saturday with a lower-body injury.

“He is such a great guy, and for him to come out and battle through his injury the way he did and produce the way he did, not even just produce, but his overall game, he competed so hard all night and was all around the puck in battles,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “The way he took control and led our group right from the first shift was great to see, and that’s what you feed off of, when guys are playing through injuries and competing at that level. So, much respect. When a guy is willing to lay his body on the line for you and play through that, you definitely want to repay the favor.”

NOTES: Pastrnak has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past four games. ... Zacha hadn't scored since Feb. 8 (12 games). ... DeBrusk only had two points (one goal, one assist) in his previous 15 games. ... Morgan Rielly had the primary assist on Tavares' goal. It was his 459th NHL point, passing Tim Horton for the third-most by a defenseman in Maple Leafs history.