Maple Leafs storm back to beat Bruins, but lose Chris Tanev, William Nylander to injury

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The Maple Leafs lost their defensive linchpin on Tuesday night.

Then, they went on to record, probably, their two biggest points of the 2024-25 season.

Five nights after he helped bury the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game in Boston, Mitch Marner scored in overtime as the Leafs stunned the Bruins with a 5-4 win at TD Garden.

Marner deked to his forehand on a breakaway at 4:07 of the extra period, fooling goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Seconds earlier, Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped Mason Lohrei before Auston Matthews sent Marner in alone.

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The result was overshadowed by an injury to defenceman Chris Tanev. He departed early in the first period after he was hit in the corner by Bruins forward John Beecher.

The Leafs announced at the beginning of the second period that Tanev would not return because of an upper-body injury. There was no immediate word from the club on the severity of the injury.

And William Nylander didn’t have a shift in overtime as he appeared to be favouring his left arm as he sat on the bench.

After spotting the Bruins a 3-0 lead, Toronto tied the game in the third period on a goal by Nick Robertson, only to have annual Leafs killer David Pastrnak score off a Jake McCabe giveaway to put the home side up 4-3.

Pastrnak went high on Stolarz at 10:33, scoring over the netminder’s right shoulder.

Pontus Holmberg tied the game 4-4 with 46 seconds left in regulation, popping a Robertson shot past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman. Holmberg has four goals in three games since the 4 Nations break.

Robertson, coming off two goals in Chicago against the Blackhawks on Sunday, tied the game at 6:40 of the third when he was spotted by Morgan Rielly, burst down the left wing and beat Swayman with a low, hard shot.

Less than a week after he set up Connor McDavid for the overtime winner for Canada in the title game, Marner scored on a Toronto power play one minute into the third. Rielly had an assist for his 500th career point in the National Hockey League as the Leafs got to within one.

Rielly, who had four points in the game, began the Leafs’ comeback in the second period when he scored from the point. The goal was the 87th of Rielly’s career, moving him past Hap Day for fourth-most among Toronto defencemen in franchise history.

The Bruins got goals from Pastrnak and Brad Marchand in the first period, and Morgan Geekie scored midway through the second before the Leafs started to rally.

While Tanev’s willingness to block shots — he was second in the NHL with 151, two fewer than Ian Cole of the Utah Hockey Club — has garnered attention, the veteran defenceman’s play as a whole in the defensive zone has been a large advantage for the Leafs in his first year with Toronto after signing a six-year contract in free agency.

You would have to pore over lots of video to find examples of Tanev being out of position, and his ability to clear the zone and move the puck with efficiency has been crucial.

The hit by Beecher was routine, but Tanev clearly was in pain as he made his way off the ice and then to the Leafs dressing room.

In 56 games with the Leafs before Tuesday, the 35-year-old Tanev had two goals and 15 assists and led Toronto with a plus-27 mark. He and McCabe have formed a strong, shutdown duo on the blue line.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun