At the time the Bruins made the surprise, last-minute announcement star , a path opened up for the Maple Leafs. Orlando Brown Jr. Jersey Toronto carriedthe momentum from a convincing victory two days earlier. All it needed was another Thursday onhome iceagainst a team mi sing its No. 1 center and the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, once hopele s, would become thebest-of-three race to Game 7 everyone expected from this matchup.Then Boston demonstrated why it's built for a deep Stanley Cup run.Riley Nash filled in admirably for Bergeronon the Bruins' top line, TuukkaRask made 30 saves and Brad Marchandscored the go-ahead goal in the second period en route to a 3-1 victory at Air Canada Center that opens a near-insurmountable series lead by the same ledger.NHL teams with three-games-to-one lead are 268-28 (.905) all time.GOLDEN STANDARD The connection here is just something else. NHL (@NHL) As the Bruinsmade the most of their opportunities (they needed just 18 shots on goal),the Leafs mi sed their best shot to pull even. Probably for good."When Bergeron didn't play tonight you're set up pretty good. You've got to find a way to win," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "This is in our building. You got to win."We were set up pretty good tonight. We didn't take advantage of it. That's on us."No Bergeron, no problemBoston kept the injury news close to the vest, announcing 30 minutes before puck drop when the team took the ice for warmups. Bergeron met with reporters earlier Thursday and gave nary a hint he would mi s the game. Here is a player who had to be hospitalized after playing Game 6 of Joe Flacco Jersey the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 with a broken rib and punctured lung, catching everyone off guard. In a bench interview with NBC's Nick Boyle Jersey Pierre McGuire, Babcock downplayed a notion his absence impacted the Leafs' gameplan.The injury was cla sified only as "upper body." Bruins coach Bruce Ca sidy said afterward it'sa lingering i sue, butthe Bruins are hopeful Bergeron returns for Game 5 on Saturday, when the Bruins can clinch the series. Whether he plays or not may no matter, at leastin the balance of this series.NHL MOCK DRAFT 1.0:The Bruins, now 12-5-2 without Bergeron in the lineup during the regular season, took advantage of Toronto's defensive lapses. The most egregious led to Marchand's goal, when Nikita Zaitsevand Jake Gardiner got caught pinching on an offensive zone draw won by the Bruins. David Pastrnakslipped by along the boards and Marchand finished the 2-on-1, leaving a helple s Frederick Anderson flailing.This is how far Andersen was behind the pa s leading to goal two - that's not typical Freddy. Debrusk had the puck settled and under control at this point, but seemed to want to skate it into the net, almost giving Andersen time to get back. Paul Campbell (@WayToGoPaul) Rask was sensational at the other end, shutting down a pair of breakaways and a 2-on-1 in the second period that could have tilted the game in a different direction.Auston Matthews kept in checkAuston Matthews, free from Bergeron breathing down his neck, expected to build off his goal in Game 3. He was double shifted in the third period as the Leafs Ray Lewis Jersey trailed by two goals, but failed to stand out much otherwise, logging just three shots in 19:43 on the ice. It's been an uninspiring series overall for the Leafs star, who has been held to just a single point in four games more of a testament to the Bruins' shutdown tactics than his own poor play.Frustrated, he dodged reporters in the locker room after the game."I'm a suming that he thought he was going to come tonight and dominate the game; that's what I thought," Babcock said. "I thought the same with Willy (Nylander). That didn't happen."What of Mike Babcock?If nothing else, the lo s exposes the many weakne ses that remain in the Leafs' lineup and the distance they still have to go as an organization,several components short of building the type of situational depth seen in elite teams such as the Bruins.Babcock's 15-26 playoff record since 2012 is probably the least-talked-about narrative in the NHL. He Tyus Bowser Jersey often gets a free pa s on reputation alone, buthasn't coached beyond the second round since 2009, when hisRed Wings fell to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.Eventually, as expectations heighten in Toronto, the Leafs will need to buck that trend.