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7 takeaways from Leafs-Bruins: Marner seals comeback, Robertson, Holmberg on fire, Rielly elevates
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Photo credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Arun Srinivasan
Feb 26, 2025, 06:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 25, 2025, 23:12 EST
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It appeared to be a lost night for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak scored 29 seconds into the contest. And it turned into a nightmare start when Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev suffered an upper-body injury on a routine play and did not return.
Boston raced out to a 3-0 lead and it seemed like another haunted night in the house of horrors that TD Garden often presents itself as. This is a different team than previous iterations and the Maple Leafs refused to go down without a fight, rallying for a 5-4 overtime victory on the strength of a Mitch Marner walk-off, his second goal of the contest.
Marner was easily the best player of the Core Four and was a menace in all situations through the second half of the game, but this game belonged to the depth pieces, and of course, Anthony Stolarz, who kept the Maple Leafs in a game, where it was given less than two percent odds of winning with 48 seconds remaining via MoneyPuck. Nick Robertson remains on fire, finishing with a goal and two points, while Pontus Holmberg sent the game to overtime with 46 seconds left.
Maybe this year will be truly different after all. Marner was the recipient of the team belt, although it could’ve easily gone to Robertson, Holmberg, Stolarz, or Morgan Rielly, who recorded his 500th career point, finishing with a goal and four points. Against the most vulnerable Bruins team in recent memory, the Leafs stole two points and it feels electric.

Here are seven takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ victory over the Bruins

  • If you watch this team on a daily basis and still want to levy ceaseless criticism of Mitch Marner, I feel bad for you. Marner wasn’t flawless and he was almost punished by David Pastrnak on a poor turnover during the second period. Marner fought through a dormant first 30 minutes, was active on the penalty kill, setting up a number off rushes with Auston Matthews and let his confidence take over. Marner picked off a few passes throughout the game, and he dialled his play up to a different level in the third period, notching an early power play goal to bring the Leafs back into the contest. He almost set up a sensational goal for John Tavares with a kick-pass through traffic in overtime, and then sealed the victory moments later, racing away on a breakaway and tucking it home. Marner scored two crucial goals in Boston with 25:41 of ice-time, leading all Leafs forwards by exactly three minutes. What more do you want from Marner? Some people won’t be satisfied until the playoffs arrive, so until then, enjoy Marner at his best, as he’s pacing towards the first 100-point campaign of his career.
  • Morgan Rielly completely elevated his game when Chris Tanev went out, and finished the night with a goal and four points, while recording the 500th point of his career. Rielly is at his best when he’s getting shots to the net, and getting active offensively and he was on the ice for four Leafs goals with zero against. Perhaps the 30-year-old was overthinking the game when getting acclimated to Craig Berube’s system, but they needed someone to step up in Tanev’s absence, Jake McCabe submitted a rare, awful performance, and Rielly stepped up, playing like the defenceman that the market expects. There are several other parties that deserve shoutouts in the wake of the comeback, but Rielly was tremendous.
  • Nick Robertson has come alive ahead of the trade deadline and reminded some of his skeptics that he has a laser of a shot. Robertson and Max Domi were buzzing throughout the contest, and while Marner deserves the lead, they were Toronto’s most consistent players from start to finish. Robertson, in particular, was driving the net hard, speeding down the ice to win puck battles, working to get free of the Bruins’ defenders and played the type of game that many want to see more consistently. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made some clever in-game adjustments, when he moved Matthew Knies down to the Domi-Robertson line, while bumping Bobby McMann up to the Matthews-Marner unit and it was largely because of Robertson and Domi’s consistency throughout the game. He’s been mentioned in trade rumours all season, but you have to wonder if Robertson has punched a permanent ticket on this Maple Leafs roster with a breakthrough series of performances.
  • Pontus Holmberg seems like a completely different player since the break. Pucks would constantly die on his stick and it seemed like his true value in the lineup was a function of drawing penalties. He’s found his scoring touch, notching a clutch goal in the final minute to send the game to overtime, but he outplayed his linemate, John Tavares, at times as well. Holmberg was on the ice for three goals against, so it wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch but he’s more than kept his top-six role throughout the past three games, and he’s now up to six goals on the year, with four goals in his past three games. We’re all the way here for Holmberg 2.0.
  • There’s no way the Leafs win this game without Anthony Stolarz, who made two amazing saves on Morgan Geekie at the end of the first period and countless more throughout the contest. It’s hard to assign blame to Stolarz for any of the four goals surrendered as the Maple Leafs surrendered the shot differential. Stolarz has allowed seven goals in his past two starts, but he’s been excellent in both games, it would be a misnomer to believe his form has fallen off. It appears that Joseph Woll will get the start Friday against the New York Rangers, and perhaps the differentiating point between this Leafs team and past versions, is the ability to rotate two stellar goalies.
  • Chris Tanev’s injury certainly puts a damper on the victory. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox reported that Tanev left TD Garden with his arm in a sling and Berube told reporters that Tanev will undergo evaluation Wednesday. Tanev has been Toronto’s best defenceman this season, he’s an elite shot blocker, who facilitates exits cleanly and erases scoring chances. If he’s out for any time at all, it will be a tough loss for the Leafs to stomach, and Philippe Myers is the immediate option to replace Tanev in the lineup.

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