Paul Bissonnette blasts Toronto Maple Leafs' defense after going down 4-0 to end second period vs Bruins

By ARJUN B

Modified Apr 21, 2024 12:49 GMT

Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette was harshly critical of the Toronto Maple Leafs' defensive play on the TNT broadcast.

The Maple Leafs were 4-0 down at the end of the second period against the Boston Bruins in Game 1. Bissonnette called out forwards Pontus Holmberg and Simon Benoit for defensive lapses that led directly to consecutive goals.

On the Bruins' third goal scored by the Bruins Jake DeBrusk, Bissonnette said,

"Just horrible defending here on the strong side. ... Holmberg gives him way too much time and space, you're supposed to direct him down low."

Bissonnette believed Holmberg failed to properly contain DeBrusk, allowing him ample room to make an offensive play.

"Don't let that shot end up going far side if you're the defender," Bissonnette said of Benoit.

"Block that shot from the far side perspective and give your goalie the strong side of the net. And what happens? A perfect screen by not only Benoit but by Morgan Geekie in front of the net and it's 3-0. And then end up taking another power-play goal, so it's ugly."

Then, DeBrusk scored his second goal for the Bruins to make it 4-0.

Bissonnette's broadcast partner Kevin Bieksa agreed with the assessments, noting how Benoit was caught out of position and failed to negate shooting lanes. Bieksa acknowledged the defensive breakdowns were a team effort but clearly, Bissonnette felt Holmberg and Benoit deserved to shoulder much of the blame.

The game ended with the Leafs 5-1 loss.

Paul Bissonnette weighs on the physicality of the Toronto Maple Leafs game

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Bruins recorded over 100 hits in Game 1. The grinding style seemed to disrupt the young Maple Leafs' focus in the game, Paul Bissonnette suggested Toronto Maple Leafs got too engrossed with the physicality.

"The thing about Boston is, they can play this way but also concern themselves with putting the puck in the net as well, because they are used to it," Bissonnette said.

"Toronto is more adapting to it where they made those adjustments from the deadline, where they added a few more guys and even on go back to last that line."

While praising the Toronto Maple Leafs for ramping up their physicality, Bissonnette cautioned them on maintaining their focus.

"I was happy with the physical play from Toronto, but it seemed to take away too much of their focus," Bissonnette said.

He cited an example of Ryan Reaves’s hit, where Reaves focused too much on retaliation rather than playing hockey.

“I still want that aggressive play, I want them between the whistles, but in some cases you have to make the right hockey play and not worry about lighting a guy up." Bissonnette added.

The second game of the best-of-seven series is scheduled to occur at TD Garden on Monday.