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The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a much-needed win in Game 2 against the Boston Bruins on Monday. After being dominated in Game 1, the Leafs used two goals in the final 40 minutes to complete the comeback and even the series 1-1.
Toronto still has a lot to do. The Bruins are a Stanley Cup contender, and even as the series shifts to Toronto, they remain the favorites to come out of the series.
3 keys to the Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the Bruins in NHL playoffs
#1. Better goaltending
Ilya Samsonov has not been bad, but he has also not been good enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first two games of the series.
The 27-year-old is 1-1 with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage through two starts.
However, Samsonov was excellent in Game 2, with 27 saves on 29 shots. They will need more of that from their netminder.
#2. Mitch Marner, where are you?
When matching up these two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of firepower. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, Mitch Marner.... on and on.
However, two of those players were absent in the first two games of this first round. Well, one of them has been absent. The other has been invisible.
Mitch Marner has racked up 47 points (10 goals, 37 assists) in 52 Stanley Cup playoff games. But through two games against Boston, all he has to show is a minus-1 rating.
Marner is getting plenty of ice time, playing over 20 minutes per game. But he has not had any effect on the outcome thus far. He has only recorded four total shots.
Toronto needs him to be better. And he should be in Game 3, especially with the return of one player who should take a lot of attention away from him.
#3. Welcome back, William Nylander
William Nylander missed the first two games of the series with an undisclosed injury after playing in all 82 regular-season games. He skated with the team but did not play. And Toronto missed him.
But tonight, Nylander slots back into the lineup, playing on the right wing with Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg. That line will need to be good tonight, but the Toronto Maple Leafs are surely happy to see #88 back in full gear.
