Boston Bruins vs.Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 7:05 p.m. EST
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
The Boston Bruins (15-4-3) remain atop the stacked Atlantic Division through the first two months of the season, and while their form as of late hasn’t been at their very best, this is still one of the most talented teams in the entire NHL, and now they’ve got a chance to prove just that against a key division rival.
In this one, they’ll do battle with one of their oldest and fiercest rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs (12-6-3), who have been off to an up-and-down start in 2023–24, but with a stacked forward group, they’ve built plenty of momentum ahead of what may be the biggest matchup in a stacked weekend of NHL games.
Can the Bruins build on a dominant win last time out?
The Boston Bruins set records during the 2022–2023 NHL regular season. Although they had a great start to the season, their performance over the last six games has seen them drop to 2-3-1, but they are still three points ahead of the tightly contested Atlantic Division.
In their past eight games away from home, the Bruins have been equally average, posting just a 3-3-2 record, but with a +18 goal differential on the season, they’re proving that this is a franchise that knows how to win, even if they’ll need to add some star power to make a deep playoff run.
This team continues to be led by David Pastrnak’s incredible start with 33 points in 22 games, but beyond that, this is a team scoring by committee until they can find another superstar to make an impact, and while the goaltending has been shaky as of late, it’s still the best duo in the league, combining to post a 2.50 GAA and a .924 save percentage on the year.
Their most recent game resulted in a much-needed comeback victory over San Jose, thanks to two point performances from Zacha and Pastrnak and a flawless 26-save performance from Jeremy Swayman in goal.
Can the Maple Leafs gain ground on Boston in the Atlantic Division?
Every year that the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t win the Stanley Cup, the pressure only grows on them, and while their start to the year has been shaky, a red-hot 6-1-1 record over their past eight games has them sitting at 12-6-3 on the year, six points behind Boston as they are third in the Atlantic Division.
At home this year, Toronto have been solid, posting a 7-4-0 record, but their goal differential on the season is exactly zero, showing that if they are to become the team to finally make a Stanley Cup run, they’ve still got many areas that they need to improve upon.
The core four of Nylander, Matthews, Marner, and Tavares are, predictably, the team’s top scorers, with Nylander leading the way with 26 points.
Although defense is still a big problem, this is a talented, top-heavy team that also needs improvement in goal, as they have a 3.29 GAA and a.903 save percentage.
Their last time out was their second straight victory at home, with Mitch Marner’s impressive hat-trick the story of the night as Joseph Woll continued to impress in net, stopping 37 of the 40 shots he saw en route to a thrilling 4-3 shoot-out win over the Seattle Kraken.
These teams have played some incredible matchups in recent years, and while the Bruins have seemingly had the best of the historic head-to-head rivalry, it appears that there’s one factor that’s even more important: home ice.
In their past six meetings, the home team has come away with a 5-1 record, and with the Bruins struggling over the past few weeks and the Maple Leafs coming to life, especially at home, this will be a chance for Toronto to get revenge from a thrilling shoot-out loss earlier in the season.
These two teams have played in some incredible intense meetings over the past few seasons, and while their matchups in Boston have provided some low-scoring matchups, that’s not the case north of the border, as the over is 6-1-1 in their past eight head-to-head meetings in Toronto.
For the Bruins, the over is 6-2 in their past eight overall games, giving up 17 goals on their recent three-game skid that was snapped last time out, and for the Maple Leafs, the over is 6-1 in their past seven games at home, with the team averaging four goals per game over that time, so expect plenty of offense in this one.
