Ex-Bruins forward spills beans on why Boston keeps beating Toronto Maple Leafs
Few players know what it’s like to come up against the Toronto Maple Leafs during playoff time more than Patrick Maroon.
And while the current Chicago Blackhawks forward isn’t likely to face off against Toronto again this spring, it had been a bit of a yearly tradition for him during his past two NHL stops.
The veteran forward faced off against the Leafs in two series in 2022 and 2023 while playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A trade to the Boston Bruins in 2024 saw him face off against Toronto in the first round of the playoffs for a third year in a row.
Though the Leafs got the best of Maroon’s Lightning in 2023, they fell in a seven-game set to the Bruins last spring, their fourth time since 2013 that they’d dropped a first-round playoff series to Boston, all of which had gone the full seven games.
In an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week, Maroon revisited the 2024 series between the two teams, where David Pastrnak lifted Boston to victory with an overtime winner in the seventh game between the two teams after Toronto had forced their way back from down 3-1 in the series.
“There was a panic when we were up 3-1; they kind of played really good without Matthews there for a second,” Maroon said. “They got to their structure. They got to their game. But [Jeremy] Swayman was nasty for us. He stole some games for us. But that Game 7 was epic.”
Called out by former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery earlier in the series for a lack of production, Maroon cited Pastrnak’s mental strength as one of the difference-makers in the series.
“That stuff doesn’t bother him; he was just like, ‘I’ve got to be better,'” Maroon said.
Another thorn in the side of the Leafs that series was Jake DeBrusk, who scored three goals in the series, having scored six previous times against Toronto in the postseason.
“He was like, ‘I own Toronto, I own Toronto.’ And he was out of the gates. He came out hot, too. He was scoring, and I was like, ‘This is great,’” Maroon said of DeBrusk’s two goals in the series’ opening game.
The two teams were scoreless through the first two periods of Game 7 before William Nylander opened the scoring for Toronto. Hampus Lindholm ended up tying the game for Boston, sending the TD Garden crowd into a frenzy before a winner-take-all sudden-death period.
“[In the locker room, we said to each other], We’re not losing this game.’ Like, Game 7, there is no way we’re losing. Everyone was just like, ‘F**k, we’re not losing,’” he added.
Boston currently finds themselves in ninth place in the Eastern Conference but just one point out of the final playoff spot. If the Bruins have a strong finish to the season, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility, yet another showdown with the Leafs could be on the way.
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