After splitting the first two games in Boston, the Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs in back-to-back games in Toronto to take the 3-1 lead in the opening-round Stanley Cup playoffs series.
The Bruins stars excelled in Game 4 while the Maple Leafs appeared to be missing in action.
Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and James van Riemsdyk got Boston on the board, and Mitchell Marner scored the lone Toronto goal. The Bruins held Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Jon Tavares to 10 shots in the game and blocked 27 attempted Leafs shots.
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“I just thought that our puck support and (…) execution along with effort allowed us to spend a lot of offensive zone time and get some quality looks that we haven’t been getting,” Bruins head coach told Andy Brickley after the win, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
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Montgomery moved away from the goalie rotation for the first time in the series and went with Jeremy Swayman for the second straight game.
Swayman was outstanding in net for the Bruins making 24 saves for his third win. The 25-year-old Alaskan native didn’t take full credit for the win.
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“Couldn’t be happier with them,” Swayman told Adam Pellerin on NESN’s postgame coverage about the team in front of him. “Blocking shots. All 60 minutes and that’s what it’s going to take against this team. It’s what it’s going to take to end the series, and I just couldn’t be happier with these guys in front of me.”
Swayman has won six straight games against the Leafs, including the playoffs, with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage.
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“I just want to pull my end of the rope,” Swayman said. “Again, we got 23 guys in there that are doing their job to an absolute T, and they’re working hard for every inch of ice they get, so I just want to be a part of something special, and we’re excited to go back to Boston.”
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Here are more notes from Bruins-Maple Leafs Game 4:
— The Leafs have lost six straight playoff games on home ice, being outscored 21-11 in those games, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
— Marchand’s power-play goal in the second period moved the Bruins captain to 56 postseason tallies. Marchand now has the most playoff goals in franchise history, moving past current Bruins president Cam Neely with 55.
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He also tied Johnny Bucyk for the second-most career postseason goals against the Maple Leafs with 10. Only Phil Esposito has more goals (11) than Bucyk and Marchand in franchise history. Jake DeBrusk and Pastrnak are tied with David Krejci for third most with nine each.
— The Bruins look to close out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a win over the Leafs in Game 5 on Tuesday. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call between two commercial flights at Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday morning.
Flight tracking data shows the pilots of Delta Air Lines Flight 2351 aborted their approach for landing around 11:30 a.m. as American Airlines Flight 3161 was accelerating for takeoff on an intersecting runway.
Delta pilots performed an evasive go-around maneuver before the Airbus A319 landed safely and passengers deplaned normally, a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.
The two aircraft got within several hundred feet of each other, according to a CNN analysis of tracking data from Flightradar24.
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An air traffic controller asked the departing American Airlines flight where it was going, to which its pilot said the tower had cleared the aircraft for takeoff, according to air traffic control audio captured by ATC.com. American Airlines deferred questions from CNN to the FAA.
While experts say flying remains an incredibly safe way to travel, Saturday’s close call is the latest in a recent spate of aviation-related incidents the US, including four dramatic plane crashes, the ever-worsening problem of turbulence and strikingly similar close call and go-around investigations.
A go-around, or aborted landing, is an aviation term for discontinuing a landing and beginning an immediate climb, then following further instructions. The safety maneuver is used to prevent runway incursions – when aircraft, vehicles or people are incorrectly positioned on a runway – as well as to counter other hazards, like sudden wind shifts and less-than-ideal approaches.
While go-arounds can feel jarring to passengers, they are still considered common and happen daily in the US, Michael McCormick, a former FAA air traffic manager and an associate professor in air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, previously told CNN.
“Passengers aren’t told in advance it’s going to happen, but they’ll recognize it when suddenly they’re coming in to land and the aircraft just starts rising back up again,” McCormick said, again noting go-arounds are routine.
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“This is something that pilots practice in flight simulators on a regular basis,” he added.
The Boston Fleet have signed defender Rylind MacKinnon to a one-year contract bringing back the 5-foot-10 defender.
Last season was MacKinnon’s first with the Fleet, whhere she recorded one assist in 28 appearances, and also played in three games.
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According to the Fleet MacKinnon added “grit and physicality to the team’s blue line.”
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The 26-year-old British Columbia product signed as a free agent with the Toronto Sceptres after going unselected in the 2024 PWHL Draft playing 22 games for the Sceptres as a rookie.
Collegiately, MacKinnon was the University of British Columbia’s all-time leading scorer by a defender.
Boston now has 13 players signed including MacKinnon, Loren Gabel, Ella Huber, Laura Kluge, Shay Maloney, Olivia Mobley, Jill Saulnier, Liz Schepers, Sophie Shirley Susanna Tapani Amanda Thiele, Megan Keller, Haley Winn, and Aerin Frankel.
Despite concerns about transportation and crowd management, the region’s biggest World Cup day yet appeared to unfold largely without major problems.
Morocco fans, many of whom celebrated on Shirley Avenue in Revere, rejoiced after their win against Scotland.
“We’re going to go very far in this World Cup,” predicted David Lalou, a Moroccan fan from Casablanca who saw the game live.
Here’s how Friday’s festivities unfolded.
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The drinks continued flowing
Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday that in two zones in the city – the Temple Place Social District and the Union-Marshall Street district – it would be legal for patrons to consume alcohol outdoors.
The measure took effect Friday, and bygame time the two zones hadquickly become lively block parties, complete with live music and hearty Scottish accents.
Zachary Lobel, 22, of Newton, and Ruairidh Davidson, 24, of Inverness, Scotland, independently brought their bagpipes to Union Street. The pair found each other, and acrowd of people gathered to watch them play.
Zachary Lobel (left) and Ruairidh Davidson, both carrying a set of bagpipes, meet at a World Cup street party.Ariela Lopez
George Comeau, a senior event manager with the Downtown Boston Alliance, organized the outdoor alcohol consumption zone on Temple Place. He estimated at 6:30 p.m. that 4,000 fans were watching the Scotland-Morocco game from the party there.
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Onthe Common, a free watch party attracted fans of every competing team.
Stan Abraham, 38, of Jamaica Plain, came with friends to support Haiti in itsmatch against Brazil.
“I just got to be around my people, around the energy,” he said.
Stan Abraham, 38, waves a Haitian flag at Boston Common.Ariela Lopez
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who isup for reelection this year, shook hands and posed for pictures with gleeful Scottish fans outside The Dubliner, the popular Government Center bar.
“I would’ve said it was impossible to drink Boston dry, but clearly [the Scots] are here and they are testing the capacity of the city to serve them,” Markey said. “It’s just a happy week.”
Scotland fans wear jerseys as they wait outside The Dubliner bar before a FIFA World Cup watch party June 13 in Boston.Mel Musto/Getty
In the Boston Public Market, which extended its hours for FIFA Fan Fest, thirsty Scottish fans did just that, lining up through the narrow Boston Beer Alley, their arms filled with as much alcohol as they could carry.
“I don’t think we’ll last all night,” said owner Dawa Sangpo.
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Also in the Public Market were Moroccan fans, many of whom frequented Mo’Rockin Fusion, a fast-casual restaurant where the food is inspired by owner Morad Bouzidi’s childhood in Morocco.
“It’s 100 percent the Moroccan experience,” Bouzidi said.
Yes, the World Cup is in Boston, but, like, not actually in Boston.
As was the case before last week’s game, South Station was packed, but some fans reported an easier commuting experience this time and Globe reporters observed a quick-moving queue.
“I had a pretty smooth experience,” said James Pennie, who is visiting from Vancouver but is originally from Scotland.
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Near 3 p.m., as a final few fans jogged through the queue to enter South Station, MBTA employees yelled out encouragement.
“No Scotland, no party!” they said.
Members of the Tartan Army sing and cheer together as they take a school bus to Boston Stadium in Foxborough for Scotland’s World Cup game against Morocco on Friday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Richard Sullivan, the Transit Police superintendent, said the fans were “a very orderly crew.” The MBTA sold over 19,000 tickets to and from Foxborough as of 3 p.m. Friday.
“The queues were very minimal,” said Phil Eng, the MBTA’s general manager. “We got everyone through.”
But not everyone took the commuter rail. A Globe photographer witnessed a convoy of 12 school buses, packed to the brim with Scottish fans, pulling into South Bay to pick up online alcohol orders, before going on to Foxborough.
Members of the Tartan Army stop at South Bay to load up on alcohol as they take a school bus to Foxborough for Scotland’s World Cup game against Morocco on Friday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A duck ? Leading a parade? And what was that about Gronk?
Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman appeared on Fox’s pregame show wearing kilts, accompanied by a man playing bagpipes.
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Edelman and Gronkowski applauded the Scots’ drinking prowess after they drank some Boston bars out of beer over the last week.
“The last time it happened was after we won the Super Bowl in 2015 against the Seattle Seahawks,” quipped Gronkowski.
And in Providence, a famous duck named Dawn led Scottish fans on a very orderly march. In a video shared on Dawn’s Tiktok page, the little creatures waddles forwards, a small Scottish flag on its back, while leagues of kilted men with bagpipes march behind it.
Jessica Rinaldi, Omar Mohammed, and Amin Touri of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Globe correspondents Ariela Lopez, Aayushi Datta, Lauren Albano, Audrey Tomlin, Jaden Perry, and Emily Spatz also contributed.
Truman Dickerson can be reached at truman.dickerson@globe.com.