BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal early in the third period and Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots, lifting the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 win over Toronto on Saturday night in the teams’ first meeting since their playoff series last spring.
Bergeron also added an empty-netter with 22 seconds to play, and Zdeno Chara had a power-play goal for Boston. The Bruins won for only the third time in seven games.
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Joffrey Lupul scored for the Maple Leafs, who lost for just the second time in six games.
Skating during the closing part of James van Riemsdyk’s double-minor penalty for high-sticking Johnny Boychuk late in the second period, Bergeron jumped in on a rebound in front and fired it past sprawling goaltender James Reimer 1:06 into the final period.
Winger Carl Soderberg backhanded the puck on net from near the bottom of the right circle.
Reimer made 31 saves.
Boston killed off a penalty late in the game when Soderberg was sent off for holding the stick. The Maple Leafs went 0 for 3 on the power play.
The Bruins had grabbed a 1-0 lead on Chara’s power-play goal off a rebound 15:27 into the opening period. David Krejci won the faceoff back to defenseman Torey Krug, who sent a cross-ice pass to Jarome Iginla. The winger slipped a backhand on net that Chara, positioned in front, banged past Reimer before two Maple Leafs defenseman could clear the puck.
If it wasn’t for solid play by Reimer it could have been a bigger deficit for Toronto. Boston outshot the Maple Leafs 14-7 in the opening period, keeping the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches.
Bruins winger Chris Kelly fired a shot off the crossbar 90 seconds into the game and Reimer made nice stops on close bids by Krug and Iginla about 20 seconds apart five minutes into the game.
But in the second period, the Maple Leafs outshot Boston 18-10 and controlled play for lengthy stretches.
Toronto tied the game at 1 on Lupul’s goal late in the second. Paul Ranger sent a long clearing pass to Lupul, who broke in down the right wing before firing a shot that beat Rask over his left shoulder, slipping the puck just inside the right post.
There were a large number of blue Maple Leafs’ jerseys sprinkled throughout the stands.
NOTES: Bruins D Adam McQuaid went down grabbing his right hip area midway into the opening period, had to be helped from the ice and didn’t return. … The Bruins held Progeria Night, raising funds for research to help find a cure for the aging disease.
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