Maple Leafs 4 - 3 Bruins
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Struggling Maple Leafs visit Bruins

Dec 31, 2014 - 3:57 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Toronto Maple Leafs hope to get back on track Wednesday when they try to continue their recent success against the rival Boston Bruins.

Toronto has lost five of its last six games on the heels of a season-high six- game winning streak from earlier this month. The recent rough patch includes a 1-3-0 record on a seven-game road trip that continues tonight at TD Garden.

Wednesday's clash marks the third of four regular-season meetings between these Atlantic Division rivals. The last time the Bruins and Maple Leafs met was on Nov. 12 when Toronto recorded a 6-1 blowout victory at Air Canada Centre behind a two-goal performance from ex-Boston winger Phil Kessel.

That lopsided win marked Toronto's third victory in the past four meetings with the Bruins, but that success hasn't translated to the road. The Leafs did earn a win their last time in Beantown, notching a 4-3 decision on Jan. 14 of last season, halting a six-game slide at TD Garden.

Boston is 12-2-1 in its last 15 home meetings against the Leafs and owns a 12-6-2 record at TD Garden this season.

The Bruins picked up their third straight victory as the host on Monday, downing the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 in the opener of a three-game homestand.

Carl Soderberg posted a goal and an assist to help Boston rebound from Saturday's 6-2 loss in Columbus, and Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for the win.

Reilly Smith, Gregory Campbell, Seth Griffith and Chris Kelly also scored for the Bruins, who beat the Red Wings without the services of injured forwards Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic.

"That's what I wanted to see from our team," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. "It's the kind of game that we need."

Both Bergeron and Lucic were back at practice Tuesday, but Julien said there is no guarantee the duo will return tonight.

"They're still day-to-day," Julien told his team's web site after Tuesday's practice. "I haven't been told that they are cleared to play yet."

Rask is expected to get the start in net. He boasts a 10-3-0 record, 1.85 goals against average and .937 save percentage in his career against Toronto.

Toronto also played on Monday and lost its second straight game with a 3-2 setback in Tampa. The Maple Leafs grabbed an early 2-0 lead before the Lightning tallied three unanswered scores to win in regulation. The setback dropped Toronto to 6-6-3 as the road club.

Mike Santorelli opened the scoring just 4:28 into the first period and Joffrey Lupul gave the Leafs a two-goal edge at the 7:47 mark. Tampa. however, evened the score with a two-goal second period before Steven Stamkos delivered the game-winner with 8:55 remaining in the third.

The Lightning outshot Toronto by a 41-23 margin and that included a 15-4 edge in the opening period when the Leafs grabbed the lead.

"If you're continually receiving the game, that's going to happen over the course of the night when you're continually not getting the puck in the opposition's zone," said Toronto coach Randy Carlyle.

James Reimer made 38 saves in his second straight start in place of No. 1 netminder Jonathan Bernier, who has been battling an illness. With Christopher Gibson being sent down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Tuesday, Bernier is expected to at least be able to suit up as the backup tonight.

Reimer is 5-5-1 with a 2.64 GAA in his career against Boston. Bernier has a lifetime 2-3-0 record with a 3.86 GAA in this matchup.






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