N.H.L. Playoffs: Maple Leafs Win to Put Bruins on the Brink

Auston Matthews broke a scoreless tie in the third period, Kasperi Kapanen added another goal, and the Toronto Maple Leafs hung on the beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1, on Friday to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference series.

With the goalie pulled for an extra skater, David Krejci got the Bruins on the board with 43.7 seconds left, but Boston could not tie it up.

The Maple Leafs can close out the series when it shifts back to Toronto for Game 6 on Sunday.

Frederik Andersen had 28 saves for the Maple Leafs, and Tuukka Rask finished with 25 for Boston, which failed to convert on its three power plays.

The Maple Leafs’ goals broke up what had been a defense-dominated game.

Matthews’s fourth goal of the postseason came after he took a feed from Jake Muzzin and found an open corner of the net on a slap shot with 8 minutes 27 seconds left. The Bruins challenged the goal, arguing that Rask was interfered with, but the goal was upheld after a review.

Kapanen scored less than two minutes later on a wrist shot.

Both teams played conservatively and combined for only 13 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.

Rask smothered three loose pucks that hung around the net as part of seven first-period stops. Andersen had six saves in the first, his best coming when he turned away a tip-in opportunity by DeBrusk off a feed from Pastrnak.

Krejci thought he had a goal with 7:20 left in the second period with a slap shot that slipped by Andersen’s shoulder. A video review showed that the puck bounced off the cross bar, failing to cross the line.

YZERMAN REJOINS RED WINGS The Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman was named the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, returning to the franchise where he was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams and a beloved captain for a league-record 20 seasons.

He replaces Ken Holland, who will move into a vice president role after being the general manager for more than two decades.

Yzerman, who built Tampa Bay into a perennial contender in his eight seasons as the G.M. there, is taking the reins of a team that has missed the playoffs three straight years in its worst stretch since the early 1980s, when the team was known locally as the Dead Wings.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Yzerman said. “We’ve been through this before.”

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