BOSTON — Linus Ullmark, making his first appearance in Round 1, stopped 30 shots in the Boston Bruins’ 3-2 loss in Game 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ullmark took his regular turn in the goaltending rotation. Jeremy Swayman made 35 saves in the Bruins’ 5-1 Game 1 win.
Ullmark was busy in the second period. He gloved Calle Järnkrok’s one-timer and kept it from crossing the goal line at 14:07. Video replay confirmed Ullmark had kept the puck in front of the line.
But Ullmark couldn’t do anything against Toronto’s power play in the second. With Matt Grzelcyk off for interference, Tavares ripped a slap shot past Ullmark at 16:57 to tie the game at 2-2. In the third, Auston Matthews netted the winner after slipping behind Charlie McAvoy and beating Ullmark blocker side.
Swayman is scheduled to take his turn in Game 3 in Toronto on Wednesday.
Morgan Geekie produces early
Geekie, the No. 3 center, played a critical part in the Bruins’ two first-period goals. With Jake McCabe off for cross-checking Jakub Lauko, Geekie punched in a power-play goal to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. When Brad Marchand controlled the puck down low, Charlie Coyle popped out in the high bumper. This forced Timothy Liljegren to choose between marking Coyle and Geekie at the far post. Liljegren went with Coyle, which opened up the cross-ice seam for Geekie. He didn’t miss.
Later in the first, Geekie won an offensive-zone faceoff against John Tavares. Moments later, Pavel Zacha hit David Pastrnak with a backhand pass. Pastrnak one-timed the puck past Ilya Samsonov with 7.8 seconds remaining in the first to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
David Pastrnak makes his mark
Pastrnak’s second-period goal was his first strike of the series. Zacha made the play happen with a slick no-look pass to his linemate. The two Czechs have played together for most of the last two seasons. Zacha appeared to know that Pastrnak would drift to the slot after winning a puck battle up high.
Andrew Peeke missing in third
Andrew Peeke did not play in the third period because of an undisclosed injury. The third-pairing defenseman was limited to 10:20 of ice time through two periods. Because of the injury, the Bruins had to lean hard on Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk.
Parker Wotherspoon is the No. 7 defenseman. Derek Forbort, back from a conditioning assignment, is the No. 8 blueliner. Forbort is recovering from two undisclosed procedures.
(Photo: Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)
