Coming into this game all the talk was about James Reimer and how he hadn’t been playing well. You even heard speculation in Toronto today that the Leafs should pursue Luongo this offseason since Reimer hasn’t been the goalie everyone expected him to be. Give the kid a break! He’s young and this is his first NHL playoff experience, he has to learn and develop. With that being said I wrote before the game that people need to just let Reimer play and perhaps that was foreshadowing as tonight was Reimer’s best game.

Game Notes

• The Leafs seem to play their best when they’re down and out. After dropping the first game in Boston, the Leafs came out strong in game two and stole a game from Boston. After dropping two games at home and on the brink of elimination the Leafs came out flying in game 5. You hate to say that a team deserved a win but tonight the Leafs deserved the win and as a result force a game 6 back in Toronto on Sunday. 5 of the Leafs last 7 playoff series (back to 2001) have gone to 7 games, will they continue the trend?
• The Boston Bruins did not have a good game tonight, heck they were brutal for the first 40 minutes. Not sure if they were relying on Tuukka Rask and hoping to beat Reimer and sneak out the victory, but they didn’t show up. Heck for most of the first two periods they weren’t even playing physical, the Leafs were out-hitting them and the Bruins were the ones lying on the ice. The Bruins did show up for the 3rd period and broke Reimer’s shutout, but in the end their slow start cost them. Good news for Bruins’ fans, this game will serve as a wake-up call for the Bruins and they likely wont pass up a second opportunity to eliminate the Leafs.
• As mentioned above James Reimer played very well tonight. In fact he played fantastic, he stood on his head and made many big
  

  Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

  time saves. I’m sorry where’s everyone saying Reimer can’t compete? One of Reimer’s best saves was a point blank shot on Patrice Bergeron. After the save the Leafs were able to get on the board. Perfect example of a big save at one end and a big goal at the other. Ladies and gentleman it appears James Reimer has arrived in the playoffs, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Leafs.

• How about Clarke MacArthur? The winger has two goals in his last two games, including the game-winner in game 5. With the Leafs getting production from their secondary scorers like Tyler Bozak and MacArthur only good things cane happen.
• This was one of the most exciting games I’ve seen all playoffs. This was two teams who knew what was at stake and traded chances throughout the night. Both goalies had stellar games but for the first time this series Reimer out-dueled Rask and the Leafs were able to solve the Bruins goalie.

The Leafs never seem to make anything easy. Game 6 will go Sunday evening back in Toronto as James Reimer and the Leafs will once again try and avoid elimination. I predicted the Bruins in 6… will I be right?

The Leafs lose 4-3 in OT in game four and are now down 3-1 in the series with the next game in Boston. I don’t think I have to spell this out, this means trouble for the Leafs. The Leafs now need to win two straight games in Boston to steal this series from the Bruins.

The Leafs got off to a great start in game four, but in the end sloppy mistakes cost this team an extremely valuable game.

Game Notes:

• When the Leafs skate they are a better team than the Bruins. The Bruins simply can’t compete or catch the speed the Leafs possess. That speed is lethal and something the Leafs used early on in the game to get the early lead. Speed is the one area the Leafs need to bring to every game and use to beat the Bruins.
• James Reimer looked solid and confident between the pipes tonight and when the Leafs needed big saves he was able to make them. His biggest save came after he was bumped into by Milan Lucic and dove backwards to get an arm on the puck to foil a wide open net. Unfortunately the puck found a home in OT and his solid effort was foiled.
• Aside from speed the next winnable area for the Leafs is special teams and tonight they lost the special teams battle. Leafs had 4 power play opportunities and failed to capitalize on any, while the Bruins scored on 2 of their 5 opportunities.
  

  Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

• What a game by David Krejci who recorded the hat-trick and was the driving force behind the Bruins comeback. Krejci now leads all players with 5 goals and 10 points in the playoffs. Last time the Bruins hoisted the Cup, Krejci was their leading scorer.
• Leafs came out on fire early and jumped out to a 2-0 lead. But instead of continuing their strong play in the second period they got complacent and stopped scoring, thus opening the door for the Bruins and allowing 3 unanswered goals.
• Bruins play an intimidation role against every player on the opposition including the goalies. The goalies have to look over their shoulder and worry whether or not they’re going to get hit. That little bit of fear or worry forces the goalies off their game and allows the Bruins to get in their heads.
• While he was held off the scoreboard Mikhail Grabovski had a fantastic game, flying all over the ice and creating scoring chances all night. He was hitting and one of the Leafs best players.
• Remember when everyone wanted to anoint Nazem Kadri the next one? He’s not doing so well right now. 1 goal in his last 15 games and has been virtually invisible all playoffs. Only time you noticed him tonight was his 4 minute major penalty.
• Dion Phaneuf went to lay a big hit in the Bruins end trying to be the hero but instead ended up taking out two Leafs players giving the Bruins a 3 on 2 and Krejci made him pay with the overtime winner.

The Leafs will head into Boston on Friday night hoping to steal a big game from the Bruins in front of their crowd. It won’t be easy for the Toronto Maple Leafs but nothing in the playoffs is ever easy.