Max Domi controlled the puck in the defensive zone of Toronto, waiting for Auston Matthews to make a move. Like a quarterback finding an open receiver, Domi passed the puck across the neutral zone to Matthews.
In a smooth motion, Matthews caught the puck with his left hand and placed it in front of his stick, then skated toward Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark and scored to break the tie in the third period.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe praised the connection between Domi and Matthews after the Maple Leafs came back from deficits to beat Boston 3-2 and even the playoff series at one game each.
Matthews contributed a goal and two assists, while Domi also scored for Toronto, ending an eight-game losing streak against Boston dating back to November 2022. Ilya Samsonov made 27 saves, and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs, who haven’t won a playoff series against the Bruins since 1959.
With home-ice advantage for Games 3 and 4 in Toronto, the Maple Leafs are focused on maintaining their momentum.
“We’ve managed to level things up, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Tavares, who was part of the Maple Leafs team that lost a 3-2 lead to the Bruins in the 2019 playoffs. “We know they’ll want to respond, so we need to keep pushing.”
Matthews had scored 10 goals in eight games leading up to the playoffs, reaching a total of 69 goals for the season. He aimed to reach 70 goals, a milestone achieved by only eight players in NHL history.
After going without a point in the final two regular-season games and the first playoff game, Matthews contributed to all three goals for Toronto on Monday, including the crucial tiebreaking goal with eight minutes remaining.
