It wasn’t pretty, but the Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 lead in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It took a while for the Bruins to get going — they had zero shots on net over the final 12 minutes of the first period — but they ultimately emerged with a 4-2 victory in Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.

The Bruins have now won five straight Game 3s dating back to the 2021 playoffs.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Bruins’ performance was their resiliency. They equalized just 4:27 after Matthew Knies opened the scoring in the second period. When Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game at 2-2 in the third period, it took the B’s just 28 seconds to regain the lead again on a Brad Marchand goal.

Brad Marchand gives the Bruins the lead back ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ops3TS0AeF

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024

Marchand also scored an empty-net goal late in the third period to seal the win, moving him into a tie with Cam Neely for first place on the team’s all-time playoff goals leaderboard at 55.

Marchand’s play in the third period set the tone for the B’s during some shaky moments. That’s why he’s the captain.

The series continues Saturday night with Game 4 in Toronto. Before we look ahead to that matchup, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Leafs Game 3.

Special teams carries Bruins

The Bruins got a rough whistle in this game, but the penalty kill did its job very well.

This unit went a perfect 4-of-4, improving its mark to 10-of-11 through three games. That’s a pretty good success rate against a Leafs team that had the seventh-best power play in the regular season.

Swayman was arguably the Bruins’ best penalty killer. He made some terrific saves while the B’s were shorthanded, including a clutch stop on a wide open Auston Matthews shot from inside the left faceoff circle during a second period Leafs power play. Swayman also made three Grade A saves during a Leafs power play early in the third period, too (see video below).

Swayman holds down the fort on the penalty kill 🙅 pic.twitter.com/vFCFoedDOS

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024

In total, he made six saves while the B’s were shorthanded.

The Bruins also continued to be red-hot on the power play. Jake DeBrusk scored with the man advantage early in the third period to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

Jake DeBrusk puts home the rebound on the power play! 😤 pic.twitter.com/2jKyXFADeq

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024

It was DeBrusk’s third power-play goal of the series and Boston’s fourth tally with the man advantage in the series. Marchand’s empty-net goal at the end of the game was technically a power-play tally as well.

The Bruins scored at an impressive 30 percent rate on the power play in four games against Toronto during the regular season. The Bruins’ power play is converting at a 50 percent rate (5-of-10) in Round 1. It’s become a huge weapon for the B’s and arguably the primary reason why they lead in the series.

Playoff intensity

This series has been very physical and Game 3 was no exception.

The Bruins and Leafs combined for 60 hits and 20 blocked shots in the first period alone. Bruins linemates Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak were on the receiving end of a couple huge hits on the same shift in the opening period.

Back-to-back big hits by the Buds 💥 pic.twitter.com/g0QAmco88s

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2024