Boston captain Zdeno Chara had plenty of time for once, and he made the most of it.
Chara scored at 16:17 of the third period and Tuukka Rask held on for his second shutout of the season, leading the Bruins to a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
“It’s a good feeling especially when you win the way we did — playing strong for 60 (minutes) and staying patient and waiting for our chances,” Chara said.
Boston outshot Toronto 37-22, but goaltender James Reimer kept the Maple Leafs in the game. Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal in the final seconds, sending the Bruins to consecutive home wins for the first time this season.
Chara took a crossing pass from Matt Beleskey at the point, skated in a little closer and wound up for a slap shot that Reimer had little chance of stopping.
“You just stand in there and try to read it. Unfortunately tonight I read it wrong, or on that shot I read it wrong,” said Reimer, who had 35 saves.
Rask wasn’t tested nearly as often as Reimer, but did have some big saves in his 28th career shutout, stopping Shawn Matthias on breakaways in all three periods.
“I think our defensive game was solid today,” Rask said. “We stuck with it even though it was a tough game and we got rewarded.
Reimer, who had 33 saves in Friday night’s shootout win at Carolina, didn’t get much help at the other end of the ice. The Leafs had just six shots in the first period.
“I thought we got her going and played well in the last 40 but you know, they were able to get one goal past me,” Reimer said.
Patrice Bergeron assisted on Marchand’s goal, extending his point streak to seven games.
Toronto, which had won five of six, lost for just the third time in regulation in November.
The Bruins and Leafs meet again Monday in Toronto.
“We had to work really hard to get this one,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “They did a good job around their net. Obviously Reimer was extremely good.”
Reimer stopped Torey Krug‘s slap shot with about 7:20 left and got some help on the rebound from defenceman Matt Hunwick, who kept the puck from crossing the goal line with his skate.
A quick video review confirmed the puck did not go in as Boston’s Jimmy Hayes swiped away at it before the whistle.
NOTES: It was the first of five of five regular-season games between the Original Six rivals. … Boston went 3-2-0 on its longest homestand of the season. … Boston recalled veteran F Max Talbot from Providence of the AHL. … Loui Eriksson, who also assisted on the empty-netter, and Marchand have points in four straight games.
