Bruins at Maple Leafs
THE STORY: With little room for error from now until the end of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs will need to figure out how to beat the Boston Bruins if they hope to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive. Their next opportunity comes Tuesday as they entertain the division-leading Bruins. Toronto comes into the game sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference, five points back of eighth-place Winnipeg with only 17 games left in the regular season. The Leafs face a Bruins club that has owned them this season, winning all four meetings by a combined score of 23-6.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NESN (Bruins), Rogers Sportsnet Ontario (Maple Leafs)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (38-23-3): Boston's grasp on the top spot in the Northeast Division is a tenuous one, with the Ottawa Senators only three points back. One of the reasons for the reduction in the gap is the Bruins' recent struggles in close games, having lost four of their last five contests decided by a goal - including back-to-back losses in New York over the weekend. Defending champion Boston is a rather ordinary 14-10-3 in one-goal outings this season, good for 15th in the league.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (30-28-7): Toronto players are already talking about Randy Carlyle's take-no-prisoners coaching style, and how different it is from the way former bench boss Ron Wilson did things. Carlyle was hired Friday in a move that generated instant results, with Toronto defeating Montreal 3-1 in his first game at the helm. The upcoming schedule won't provide any respite for the struggling Maple Leafs, with games against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia serving as a challenging prelude to a five-game road trip beginning Sunday.
OVERTIME:
1. Boston has four power-play goals in 14 opportunities against the Maple Leafs this season.
2. The Bruins and Maple Leafs are two of the highest-scoring third-period teams in the league. Boston ranks tied for second with 84 third-period goals, while Toronto sits tied for fourth with 70 tallies.