TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs had their first breath of life. Mitch Marner, shifted to the top line because Auston Matthews was too sick to play in the third period, scored the Leafs’ first goal. The Boston Bruins’ lead was 3-1.
On the next shift, it almost became 3-2.
William Nylander, making his first appearance of the series, executed something the Leafs had desperately missed in Games 1 through 3: catalyzing instant offense.
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“They had a few plays they created out of nothing,” Brad Marchand said. “They have that ability to do that and take over a game.”
Nylander backhanded a six-foot snapper on goal. It could have become a one-goal game.
Jeremy Swayman said no.
The Bruins ace pushed from left to right, got square to the puck and smothered Nylander’s shot. It was the closest the Leafs would come to scoring again.
Nylander looking for his first pic.twitter.com/CHODVrBewO
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 28, 2024
With Swayman stopping 24 of 25 shots, the Bruins took a 3-1 Game 4 decision and a 3-1 series lead.
“I looked back,” said Brandon Carlo, “and I was like, ‘Thank goodness for Jeremy Swayman.’”
In 2023-24, Swayman has executed a hostile takeover of the Bruins’ biggest rival of late. He is the new chairman of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. Swayman owns the Leafs.
The numbers do not lie. Swayman has won all six games he’s started against the Leafs this season, including the last three in Round 1. Swayman leads all playoff goalies with a .956 save percentage.
Somehow, the Leafs have to beat Swayman three straight times for their season to go on. How they can manage that without having done it once is beyond comprehension.
“Hard to say,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said when asked why the Leafs showed so little in Game 4. “It’s hard to pinpoint that.”
After Game 3, coach Jim Montgomery mused that Swayman was in the Leafs’ heads. Montgomery pointed to Max Domi’s Game 3 bump of his goalie as proof. Montgomery may have been right.
To the Leafs, Swayman looks taller than the CN Tower. Aside from Marner’s backhand swipe, Swayman turned everything else aside with the coolness that has become his signature. Swayman has knocked off the prickliness with which he engaged opponents during the regular season. He is all business.
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“It’s contagious in this locker room,” Swayman said of his confidence. “Every guy has a ton of reasons to be confident and have that jam. We’re Boston Bruins. We’re representing more than ourselves, especially in this 100th year.”
Before Game 4, Montgomery declined to answer whether he’d break the rotation and put Swayman in for a second straight start. He didn’t have to. Everybody knew Swayman was going, even before he was the first goalie off the Scotiabank Arena ice following Saturday’s morning skate.
All the circumstances lined up. Swayman had yet to lose to the Leafs. He had two full days of rest. There was no travel between Games 3 and 4. Saturday was an 8 p.m. puck drop.
“I was really grateful,” said Swayman of the second straight start. “Really grateful and excited to go back to Boston now.”
Montgomery didn’t say whether Swayman would be back in net for a possible closeout Game 5. There is no chance Linus Ullmark gets the nod. Swayman is literally unbeatable for the Leafs. Even more so when his teammates check as well as they did for the first two periods.
The Leafs had nothing. Through 40 minutes, they were expected to score 0.71 five-on-five goals, per Natural Stat Trick. The Bruins were everywhere: above pucks in the neutral zone, behind the Leafs in the offensive zone, defending in layers in dangerous defensive-zone ice. With goals by James van Riemsdyk, Marchand and David Pastrnak in his pocket, Swayman had little else to do but watch the defensive artwork.
“We were doing a great job playing behind them for the most part,” said Brandon Carlo. “When we’re doing that, I feel our whole game kind of comes together. We can play behind them. Then our (third forechecker) is in a good spot. We’re able to keep good gaps and allow them to turn pucks over in three-quarters ice, play more north and behind them.”
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You could say that Swayman and Ilya Samsonov started 2023-24 on equal footing. Both went to arbitration in the offseason. Samsonov went first. He was given a $3.55 million award. Swayman scored a $3.475 million decision.
They are nowhere near equal now.
In the first period, van Riemsdyk’s patience forced Samsonov to open up his pads. The veteran left wing tucked the game’s first goal through the goalie’s pads.
In the second, with Domi off for cross-checking Pastrnak, Samsonov tried to fight net-front traffic when Charlie McAvoy held the puck at the point. Samsonov leaned to his right to peek around van Riemsdyk, who was battling with Simon Benoit. McAvoy, who was angled to his right, passed to Marchand outside the dot. Samsonov was stuck on the wrong side. Before he could recover, Marchand, not known for his one-timer, rapped the winner home.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS ©️ pic.twitter.com/gsDxMqCg67
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 28, 2024
With 41.6 ticks remaining in the second period, Samsonov had no chance to stop Pastrnak on a two-on-zero rush. That was that.
Samsonov gave way to Joseph Woll in the third period. Maybe for good.
Samsonov has an .883 save percentage. His Game 3 wave at Trent Frederic’s low-danger shot opened the door for the Bruins to bust through.
“We’re just trying to change things,” Keefe explained. “Get Joe involved. That’s really it, trying to change the momentum. As for what we’ll do going forward, we’ve got some time here to talk it through.”
The Bruins are in full control. Swayman is in charge.
(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)
