Brad Marchand, Boston’s regular-season scoring leader, has produced just two assists against Toronto. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Five quick thoughts on the players and situations that could have an impact on tonight’s must-watch Game 7 between the Bruins and Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET on CNBC), one of two winner-takes-all matchups on tap tonight:

1. Reimer’s goaltending: Has any goaltender stepped up his game in the playoffs to the same degree as Toronto’s James Reimer? After a rough start in Game 1, his save percentage (.932) has climbed higher than what he posted during the regular season (.924), all while facing 237 shots through six games, an average of 39.5 per game. He’s stopped 72 of the last 74 he’s faced, holding the Bruins to a single goal in each of the past two games as the Leafs staved off elimination. Reimer is playing his best hockey of the season at the most critical juncture. If he maintains this level, the Leafs win Game 7.

MUIR: Five keys for Rangers vs. Capitals

2. Gardiner’s surprising play: The must-watch player tonight? Toronto’s Jake Gardiner. Two weeks ago, he wasn’t regarded as one of Toronto’s top-six blueline options, but a finger injury suffered by Mike Kostka in Game 1 opened the door. After a nervous debut in Game 2, Gardiner has been a revelation, changing the complexion of Toronto’s transition game with his speed and passing skills and giving Boston’s defenders fits with his daring raids deep into their zone as a fourth attacker. The confidence and imagination he displayed om Sunday night was staggering, but he’s still a work in progress. It’ll be interesting to see if coach Randy Carlyle keeps the green light turned on, or if he tries to rein Gardiner in … and if he does, what impact that will have on Toronto’s attack.

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Chris Kunitz isn’t exactly stuck between a rock and hard place in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. (Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Evgeni Malkin’s patience made the difference as Pittsburgh came from behind three times before finally knocking off the pesky Islanders.

• Chris Kunitz is involved in a tug-of-war between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Poor guy. Kate Upton is calling him at all hours too, probably.

• After a series in which they won over fans with the promise of youth, the Islanders matter again in New York.

• If finishing as a Hart Trophy finalist didn’t do the trick, then John Tavares’s strong playoff debut marked the moment when he officially became a star in the NHL.

• Scott Cullen looks at some of the numbers that defined the Pens/Isles series.

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Boston’s Jaromir Jagr still has the talent that once made him one of the NHL’s most dominant players. (Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

For the first time in nine years, the city of Toronto, which many have long considered to be the epicenter of the hockey universe, renewed a long-lost tradition: hockey in May. Inside the Air Canada Centre, every high-priced seat was filled for the national anthems, which, according to Toronto natives, is an unusual sight. And it was a balmy 68 degrees in Maple Leaf Square, where thousands of fans — all decked in blue and white — stood for hours just to watch hockey on a humongous screen. Confetti dropped from the sky and television crews set up on-site sets. Now that’s some passion.

Though the visiting Boston Bruins spoiled the homecoming, defeating the Maple Leafs, 5-2, in Game 3 of their opening-round series, it’s still nice to welcome Toronto back to the playoffs. We’re happy to have you back, Leafs.

As for the game itself, here are some observations:

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Antti Niemi and the Sharks have the Canucks down 0-3, but will they let them back up? (Rich Lam/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Alain Vigneault is likely to take the fall when the Canucks are eliminated, but this defeat was induced by the failures of GM Mike Gillis.

• Tony Gallagher says it’s time for the Sedins to stop taking the blame in Vancouver. Apparently two assists apiece through three games gets you a pass in some parts.

• The Sharks have to be feeling good about themselves with a 3-0 series lead, but coach Todd McLellan will remind them today that the last time they were in this spot they ended up playing in a Game 7.

• The Senators battled back from a disappointing loss and mugged the Canadiens in a fight-filled Game 3.

• The Canadiens embarrassed themselves in every way while losing this one. That whirring sound you hear is Toe Blake spinning in his grave.

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Toronto’s James Reimer had a tough outing in his first-ever playoff start. (Elise Amendola/AP)

By Brian Cazeneuve

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round series. Here’s a breakdown of the action from TD Garden.

• The Bruins’ so-called energy line has been their best line on some nights. The combination of Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton gave Boston its first goal of the night and logged significant minutes throughout, in part as an answer to Toronto coach Randy Carlyle’s decision to play Colton Orr and his fourth line for 13 shifts. In eight minutes, Orr amassed 16 minutes of penalties. “They seem to relish that role,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said of his fourth-liners. “Two years ago, I played them against the Sedin twins. That’s how much confidence I had in them.”

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Tyler Seguin apologized for a homophobic tweet, but could face further discipline. (Michael Tureski/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• A couple of the NHL’s biggest stars stirred up controversy last night with some poorly chosen words. In Vancouver, Duncan Keith took a swipe at a female reporter’s credibility in a postgame interview. Earlier, Tyler Seguin threw down a casually homophobic slur on Twitter. While he deleted the tweet and apologized, he’ll probably have to answer for it in some fashion. It’ll be very interesting to see what action the league/PA take in the wake of the NHL’s recent partnership with the You Can Play Project.

• Everyone understands that ticket prices go up for the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are really putting the screws to their long-suffering fans.

• Unlikely heroes powered the Winnipeg Jets to a huge win over the Sabres, setting up tonight’s battle against the Capitals with the Southeast division lead on the line.

• Here’s the view from Washington.

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By Allan Muir

A guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

Carey Price saved the life of RDS analyst Marc Denis with quick leather (above).

• It’s nice to say that Alex Ovechkin needs to step up and answer his critics, but I’m not sure he cares enough to bother.

• Apparently there are no Lindsay Lohans on the Washington Capitals.

• Ben Scrivens earned his second straight shutout, prompting the question of the day:

Is it possible the Leafs will keep both Scrivens and Reimer, or is it inevitable that one will be traded to Vancouver?—
Dave Hodge – TSN (@TSNDaveHodge) February 19, 2013

• The Blackhawks only need a single point tonight against Vancouver to earn a spot in the NHL record book. GM Stan Bowman has taken his shots in Chicago, but he deserves a pat on the back for the team’s fine start.

• Focusing on the defensive side of things helped Steven Stamkos work through a six-game scoring slump.

• Claude Giroux played the fiery leader card after Saturday’s loss to Montreal. The Flyers responded on Monday afternoon with “a flawless…60-minute game” against the Islanders…which was nice but, again, it was the Islanders. Let’s see Philly show up with that kind of focus against the Penguins tomorrow night.

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By Allan Muir

A guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Brent Seabrook demonstrated how far the Hawks are willing to go to keep their hot streak rolling. After holding off a Kings rally, Chicago is now one game away from tying the record for consecutive games with at least one point from the start of the season.

• Steve Begin doesn’t score often, but he has a spectacular sense of timing. The gritty forward buried an OT clincher for Boston on May 1, 2010, then waited 1,023 days before scoring again — last night’s game-winner as Calgary came back from down 3-1 to beat Dallas 4-3.

• John Tortorella hates the media again and the Rangers returned to their 2011-12 form in a 2-1 win over the Caps. Coincidence?

• Did Peter Laviolette receive the kiss of death on Sunday? Hard to believe that anyone would question his job security considering all the injuries Philly is dealing with, but you never know when it comes to the Flyers.

• Sidney Crosby moved to within one point of the league scoring lead with three points in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 win over the Sabres on Sunday. The loss left Sabres’ netminder Ryan Miller steaming mad

• Boston’s pushover power play clicked for the third time in four games and Tyler Seguin finally figured out that there are free bunnies for those who go to the net in Boston’s 3-2 win in Winnipeg.

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It’s not unusual for the same player have make multiple shootout attempts in international hockey. After the first three shots, any player can step up over and over until the thing is decided. Repeating the best players makes for brilliant theater, as anyone who watched the epic duel between Jonathan Toews, Peter Mueller and Jack Johnson at the 2007 World Juniors will recall.

But second chances aren’t part of the NHL model. At least, until tonight.

Boston’s Tyler Seguin was the first shooter to face New Jersey netminder Johan Hedberg after the teams remained tied at one through overtime. His first attempt was a high-speed gallop capped off with a wicked wrister that beat Hedberg high glove. Boston went up by one.

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Tyler Seguin came into the season hot with an improving all-around game. (Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Some thoughts on Monday’s matinee in Boston:

• It was a sloppy, hard-hitting, entertaining game, with the Bruins winning 2-1 in the shootout. Chris Thorburn opened the scoring for the Jets in the first before Brad Marchand evened it up, deflecting home a sensational pass from Tyler Seguin. Patrice Bergeron earned the extra point in the skills competition.

• Winnipeg did a nice job of hanging around all afternoon, and getting a point on the road against a Cup contender is a big deal for a team that struggled last season away from the MTS Centre. The Jets showed lots of compete, but didn’t create chances — either quality or quantity — the way the Bruins did. Winnipeg managed just one shot while going 0-for-4 on the power play, including a pair of opportunities in OT. No excuses for that.

• Both teams are likely to talk about how bad bounces and a lack of puck luck cost them, but a lot of that comes down to rust. Take Brad Marchand. Outside of his goal, he made about half-a-dozen great half-plays. He’d create something with his hustle or an active stick, but then would lose the puck or fail to make an effective pass . That’s the way it went on both sides.

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