The opening game of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs went off with a bang as Boston scored just two and a half minutes in. Boston Pat Maroon decided to ramp things up a but further, using a big hit to put Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren into the Bruins' bench. Liljegren went face first pretty much right into the laps of those sitting on Boston's bench.
And, just to get everyone's blood flowing early, Maroon tried to ruffle feathers by crossing the red line during warmups, an unwritten no-no in the NHL.
Toronto will need players like Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Ryan Reaves to respond in kind if they want to keep up.