Boston, MA – James Reimer stopped 43 shots and Clarke MacArthur netted the winning goal early in the third period, as the Toronto Maple Leafs staved off elimination with a 2-1 win over the Boston at TD Garden in Game 5 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Tyler Bozak scored in the second period for the Maple Leafs, who had dropped two in a row on home ice prior to Friday, but now trail the best-of-seven set three games to two.
"We came in with the mindset to just get it back to Toronto to give ourselves a chance and we've done that," MacArthur said. "We want to keep going. We've worked hard all year and I can see it starting to pay off."
Zdeno Chara netted the lone score and Tuukka Rask halted 31 shots in defeat for the Bruins, who have lost two in a row at TD Garden in this series after a Game 1 victory.
Game 6 returns to Toronto on Sunday.
"If there's anything you take away from this, it's that we need to play three periods like we did in the third to close this out," noted Bruins head coach Claude Julien.
MacArthur gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead before two minutes elapsed in the third period, picking off an errant pass near center ice and powering his way through the Boston zone before beating Rask on the backhand.
The Bruins accelerated their offensive pressure and eventually got on the board when Chara's blast from below the left circle hit the back of the net with 8:48 left in regulation.
Toronto survived a Bozak penalty for shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone as 3:48 remained on the clock, and Rask was pulled for the extra skater with 1:11 to go.
Jaromir Jagr had a wide-open chance from the slot with 11 seconds remaining, but Reimer was able to get the butt end of his stick on the shot to deflect it over the end boards. Tyler Seguin's last-ditch chance from the left side hit the outside of the near post.
"I see that we've poked the Bruins. They're going to be a very desperate hockey club come Sunday night," said Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle.
Reimer came away with eight saves, but Rask had to be sharp against a charged- up Toronto offense, and he was equal to all 19 shots in a scoreless first period.
His finest save of the period came when he flashed the glove along the goal line to snag a puck batted out of the air by Leafs winger Mikhail Grabovski -- who passed it to himself from behind the net and over the head of Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk before attempting his trick shot.
"No question, he was the only reason it was 0-0," Julien offered of his starter.
Reimer came up with a fully-extended left-pad save on a wide-open chance by Patrice Bergeron just prior to the midway point of the second. The Leafs netminder made two more stops while shorthanded until Bozak broke free up the middle and beat Rask for the game's first goal and his first career postseason marker at the 11:27.
"The way we battled, got pucks to the net in the third -- we have to carry that into the next game," said Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
Game Notes
Bruins forward David Krejci notched the primary assist on Chara's goal, giving him a league-best 11 points (5G, 6A) over five games ... Toronto hasn't beaten Boston in a playoff series since the 1959 semifinals ... Jagr remained one score shy of tying Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau for 10th on the all-time playoff goal list with 79 ... The Bruins scratched defenseman Wade Redden, and recalled defenseman Matt Bartkowski from Providence of the American Hockey League in his place ... Toronto defenseman Mark Fraser was absent after undergoing surgery to repair facial fractures after he was hit by a puck in Game 4.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.