Matthews scores twice, Maple Leafs end Bruins' winning streak at seven

TORONTO --Auston Matthews scored twice, and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended the Boston Bruins' seven-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

"I think just really pleased with the effort throughout the 60 minutes," Matthews said. "I thought playing a really good team on the other end, they were going to get their chances and momentum swings, but I thought we did a really good job of just sticking with it, trusting each other, not panicking out there and obviously special teams was big. Our PK came up huge and [Erik] Kallgren coming in there in the third period played great. I think just overall a really good effort from all 20-plus guys.
"They were probably the hottest team coming in tonight in the NHL. We just wanted to make sure we were ready and prepared for that challenge, and I thought we did a really good job."
Mitchell Marner had two assists, and Ilya Samsonov made 13 saves for the Maple Leafs (6-4-2) before leaving at the end of the second period with a knee injury.

Erik Kallgren, who made seven saves in relief in the third period, said he overheard a conversation between Samsonov and the training staff during the second period and began mentally preparing to come into the game.
"I felt pretty good, it's obviously not ideal coming in after two periods," Kallgren said. "I'd been sitting down for a long time so I was a little bit stiff and cold, but I got a few shots in the beginning and kind of got into it. It's definitely a little easier to get some time [knowing I'm coming in] trying to get as warm as I could."
Brad Marchand scored on a penalty shot for his 800th NHL point, and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the Bruins (10-2-0).
"I think Toronto checked better than we did tonight. It was hard for us to generate a lot of offense, so you have to tip your hat to them," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. It was breakouts, we weren't very clean, and then just our puck decisions through the neutral zone making sure we were able to establish a forecheck, which we weren't able to."
Matthews put Toronto ahead 2-1 at 14:07 of the second period with a power-play goal. William Nylander carried the puck into the zone and rounded the net before finding Matthews at the top of the goal crease for a tap-in.
"It was a really nice play," Matthews said. "He just kind of went for a walk there and just tried to get open. He's got all the skill in the world to make plays and he sees the ice extremely well. I just tried to get open there and he put it right on a tee for me."
The Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead at 7:19 of the first period. Michael Bunting kicked the puck to Matthews behind the net and Matthews backhanded a shot past Ullmark's blocker at the side of the net.
Matthews has scored in three straight games and has five goals in his past five games.
"I don't think we played with the puck as much as we'd like to, especially in the offensive zone," Bruins forward David Krejci said. "I guess we couldn't wear them down by the third period."
"We have to realize every time we play a game now that teams are going to be ready for us, so it was a good test for us. We have to learn from it and make sure we are as prepared as the other team now."

Marchand tied it 1-1 at 4:59 of the second period on a power play. He was tripped by TJ Brodie on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, beating Samsonov with a backhand deke past his outstretched glove.
"We just found another level tonight," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We moved the puck better, we skated harder both ways. We knew that Boston was going to demand our absolute best if we were going to compete with them, and I found our guys not only met that, but I thought we established the pace of the game early rather than just feeling our way through it. That first 10 or 12 minutes was definitely the quickest and I thought the best we'd been all season, and that provided the foundation for the win."
NOTES: Keefe had no update on Samsonov but said he would not be available at the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. … Krejci had two shots in 17:03 after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … Marchand tied Mario Lemieux with his sixth penalty shot and is one behind Pavel Bure for the most in NHL history. … Marchand has 355 goals and 445 assists in 878 games in 14 NHL seasons, all with Boston. ... Marner has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. … Toronto defenseman Timothy Liljegren played 15:50 in his season debut after undergoing sports hernia surgery in the offseason. … Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds had two shots in 6:35 after being recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Friday.