The set-up: The Boston Bruins blew a chance at capturing the East's No. 1 seed when they lost a home contest to the Panthers in the team's final game of the regular season. However, The Bruins regrouped quickly and won the first two games of their series with the Maple Leafs, 5-1 and 7-3. The series shifted to Toronto for Game 3, where the Maple Leafs were able to reverse the momentum of the series with a 4-2 home win on Monday night. Toronto had a chance to level the best-of-seven series in Game 4 on Thursday night but come to Boston for Saturday's Game 5 lamenting a missed opportunity in Thursday's 3-1 setback, despite the Bruins playing without the team's top-line center, Patrice Bergeron (he was a late-scratch with an upper body injury). the Bruins prevailed to gi up 3-1. However, one night after Pittsburgh and Nashville both failed to win close-out games on home ice, the Boston Bruins suffered a similar fate in their bid to KO the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference first-round series, The Maple Leafs scored a pair of early goals and rode a superb 42-save performance by Frederik Andersen to stave off elimination with a 4-3 victory. The Bruins get another chance to send the Maple Leafs packing when they take a 3-2 series lead into Monday's Game 6 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

Boston: Goaltender Tuukka Rask has guided Boston to the Stanley Cup Final (2013) and won a Vezina Trophy but he lasted only nine shots and was yanked midway through the second period Saturday after giving up four goals to put his team in a catch-up situation. That was the bad news but there was some good news, as center Patrice Bergeron was back in the lineup Saturday after sitting out Game 4. That said, Boston's top line, which amassed 20 points in the first two games, was held off the scoresheet.

Toronto: Speaking of No. 1 units, there was speculation as to whether head coach Mike Babcock would switch Mitch Marner to Auston Matthews' line to ignite a spark. However, Babcock elevated Connor Brown alongside Matthews, moved William Nylander to a newly formed unit with Kadri and Andreas Johnsson, and put Kasperi Kapanen with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Brown and Johnsson each scored their first career playoff goals and van Riemsdyk also converted. "I'm not sure we're going to have the same lineup," Babcock said Sunday. "With last change at home, might make that different. I don't know for sure."

The pick: The last time Original Six rivals Boston and Toronto met in the postseason, the Bruins needed a miraculous comeback in the final minutes of Game 7 before ousting the Maple Leafs in overtime. Five years later, Toronto is in position of needing a miracle comeback of its own, trailing this best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Saturday's Game 5 at Boston's TD Garden. The Maple Leafs can look to the past for inspiration, as they also trailed the series 3-1 in 2013, before blowing a two-goal lead in the final 90 seconds of Game 7! I took the Maple Leafs in Game 5, with Toronto using a quick early scoring burst to hold on due to a superb effort from Frederik Andersen (note: Andersen became the fifth netminder in franchise history to make at least 40 saves for a win in an elimination game). Make Toronto a 10* play here in Game 6, as this series is headed back to Boston for a Game 7.