Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Leafs Falling Off The Composure Tree

Originally posted on Boston Hockey Now | By Jimmy Murphy | Last updated 4/29/24

The Boston Bruins have the Toronto Maple Leafs falling off the composure tree through the first four games of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Not only did the Boston Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4, to also take a 3-1 series lead, but they utterly dominated the Maple Leafs in every necessary facet to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their effort was better than the Leafs, and their sacrifice was better as they led their opponent 27-6 in blocked shots. The Bruins also continued to convert on the power play, going 1-for-3, while the high-octane Toronto power play went 0-for-3. The Bruins scoring was clutch, and Jeremy Swayman continued to reside in the collective head of the Maple Leafs.

That led to a scene that will go down in infamy of Maple Leafs’ history with the star pillars of the team, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, caught bickering on the bench late in the second period.

Frustration has started to set in for the Maple Leafs stars pic.twitter.com/PbnQBNigKD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2024

“That’s just the way we are. I mean, we expect a lot from each other, and we love each other. So, I mean, just to push each other, have a high ceiling, I think is great,” William Nylander said of the meltdown.

Clearly, frustration has taken over on the Toronto bench, but Mitch Marner, like Nylander, seemed to be in denial.

“I don’t think there’s any,” Marner said postgame when asked about frustration. “You know, we’re grown men. We’re talking about plays out there that we just want to make sure we’re all 100 percent on and know what we’re doing. Just a little bit off-page there. And we’re not yelling at each other because we hate each other. We just want to all be on the same page to help each other out to try to get the best offensive chance. Willy and I and Auston talked about it after. We’re just trying to make a play, and unfortunately enough, it didn’t happen on that one.”

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was asked about his opponents seemingly unraveling in Game 4.

“I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought about that much,” Montgomery said. “I’m just really focused on our team and playing to our team identity and trying to have success within our own play.”

That’s likely Montgomery just being respectful, though, because if we can see it, he and his Bruins players can definitely see it on the ice, and make no mistake, this Leafs team is ripe for the kill in Game 5 on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

This article first appeared on Boston Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission.

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