Michael Ryder, Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick scored, leading the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Marc Savard and Milan Lucic each added two assists for the Northeast Division-leading Bruins, who handed Toronto a loss in its return from a weeklong road trip.

Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski scored for the Maple Leafs, who have only two wins in their last eight games.

The Leafs returned home from a swing through Western Canada about 24 hours before the game and it showed during a sluggish start.

They didn't get much help from goalie Vesa Toskala, either. He was particularly shaky during the first period, letting a soft shot from Kessel go through his legs at 9:40 and giving up a big rebound to Hunwick before he scored his first NHL goal at 13:18.

Suddenly, Boston had a 2-0 lead and the game appeared headed for a blowout.

But Blake gave the Maple Leafs some momentum late in the opening period. He took a nifty bank pass off the end boards from Ian White and fired a shot over Tim Thomas at 17:51.

Toronto had several chances to tie it during the second period. The Maple Leafs were given three straight power plays - including 21 seconds with a 5-on-3 advantage - but couldn't get another shot past Thomas, who made saves while flopping all over his crease.

A nice individual rush by Ryder restored Boston's two-goal lead. The former Montreal Canadiens sniper dragged the puck around Leafs defenseman Pavel Kubina and beat Toskala high at 14:11.

Toronto found its legs in the third period after Grabovski scored his ninth goal of the season at 8:53 to make it 3-2. Niklas Hagman made a nice move to beat a defender and the puck found its way to a wide-open Grabovski at the side of the net.

Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward took a late penalty and the Maple Leafs pulled Toskala, but Thomas stood tall during a late flurry.

(Thanks to the Associated Press for the assist)

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Bruins endure flurry of Leafs
Monday, 17 November 2008
Michael Ryder, Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick scored, leading the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. Marc...

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