Boston’s Jaromir Jagr, right, victimized Toronto defenceman Ryan O'Byrne for a turnover that led to a costly goal in Game 3. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Three storylines for Game 4 of the Leafs-Bruins first-round series on Wednesday night in Toronto (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 6:30 p.m. ET). Boston leads the series 2-1.
1. Can the Maple Leafs limit their mistakes?
The Bruins proved to be opportunistic in Game 3 on Monday.
A lost draw by Maple Leafs centre Tyler Bozak led to Boston's first goal from defenceman Adam McQuaid.
Toronto defenceman Ryan O'Byrne was stripped of the puck behind the Maple Leafs goal by Jaromir Jagr, who fed linemate Rich Peverley for another Boston goal. Bruins forward Daniel Paille intercepted a Phil Kessel pass for a shorthanded marker.
In their Game 2 victory, the Maple Leafs made safe plays. They also moved the puck better out of their own end to unleash the speed of their forwards. They need to be better in those areas if they have designs on pulling even in this series.
2. Can the Maple Leafs stop the Bruins' playoff-productive line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton?
In their series-opening win and their Game 3 victory, the Bruins received strong performances from the Krejci line. For the most part this threesome struggled in the regular season, especially late in the year.
But when the playoffs began last week, the group checked in for two goals and six points in the 4-1 series opener and registered another two goals and eight points in Game 3.
"They're a big, fast line," Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf said. "They're smart with their size. They get pucks to the net and drive to the net."
Lucic has been a physical force. He put a bone-crunching bodycheck on Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul in Game 3.
The other possible development that the Maple Leafs have to be wary about is the emergence of the Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand line. They have been relatively quiet in this series so far.
3. Will the Maple Leafs get more traffic in front of Boston goalie Tuukka Rask?
Toronto managed to fire a season-high 47 shots on goal in Game 3, including a whopping 34 shots in the final 40 minutes.
But the Maple Leafs did not get a lot of traffic in front of Rask. Making life for the 26-year-old Bruins goalie a little more difficult will be a big aim for Toronto in Game 4. They want to crash the net more.
"There's a lot of junk sitting around [the crease]," Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle said. "It's a lot like making a pass to a player if you can pass it off the goalie's pads."
Projected lines, defence pairings for Game 3
Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul -- Tyler Bozak -- Matt Frattin
James van Riemsdyk -- Mikhail Grabovski -- Nikolai Kulemin
Ryan Hamilton -- Nazem Kadri -- Phil Kessel
Leo Komarov -- Jay McClement -- Colton Orr
Carl Gunnarsson -- Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner -- John-Michael Liles
Mark Fraser -- Cody Franson
Starting goalie: James Reimer
Bruins
Milan Lucic -- David Krejci -- Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Tyler Seguin
Rich Peverley -- Chris Kelly -- Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille -- Gregory Campbell -- Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara -- Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference -- Johnny Boychuk
Wade Redden -- Adam McQuaid
Starting goalie: Tuukka Rask
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
