One Big Takeaway As Bruins Fall To Maple Leafs, Suffer Third Straight Loss

The Boston Bruins entered Saturday night’s matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs looking to shake off back-to-back losses.

However, falling short of a successful come-from-behind bid paved the way for a nail-biting 6-4 loss at Scotiabank Arena — Boston’s third in a row — instead.

The Bruins and Maple Leafs underwent a wild back-and-forth exchange of timely goals, making for a thrilling rivalry race to the finish line. Boston found two equalizers, first in the second period and then again in the third period, however, that still wasn’t enough to overcome the Maple Leafs. More specifically, interim head coach Joe Sacco and the Bruins couldn’t counter Toronto’s cheat code: Matthew Knies.

Knies, who entered the night with two goals in two matchups versus Boston this season, extended the red-hot streak ridiculously. The 22-year-old single-handedly stiff-armed the Bruins, not once, not twice, but three times to carry the Maple Leafs.

Once in the second period and twice in the third period, giving Knies five goals in three games this season against the Black and Gold. Scoring three on Saturday night helped Knies secure his first career hat trick in the NHL and cornered the Bruins.

Even though Toronto never took a lead larger than a goal throughout the final period of regulation, the damage Knies had inflicted on Boston was plenty enough.

Had the Bruins got ahead of stopping Knies from outshining everyone else on the ice, goals from Morgan Geekie, Trent Frederic and two from David Pastrnak would’ve been enough to put Boston ahead comfortably.

Instead, the everlasting pressure on Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Boston’s offense made the finale of a three-game road trip immensely frustrating as the now 20-17-4 Bruins return home. Swayman saved 23-of-27 shots from Toronto, marking the most goals allowed by the 26-year-old since Boston’s 8-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 10.

Toronto has now taken two of three matchups against Boston this season.

The Bruins will next host the New York Islanders on Sunday, still in search of their slump-ending trip to the win column. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.