Despite being 1 point behind first place in the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins may still face the Toronto Maple Leafs in a first-round matchup. It’s what made Toronto’s 4-1 loss on Monday so frustrating, and their performance didn’t help matters.

There were a lot of factors working against the Leafs in this game. It was the second part of a back-to-back set, several players in the locker room had the flu, and the trade deadline was less than 24 hours away. This may have been an opportunity to send a message to Boston and give it a preview of what it could expect in April. The scrappiness differed from Monday’s game, but the level of play remained consistent. If this is the food Toronto is sending out, the Bruins will cheerfully accept it and ask for seconds.

David Pastrnak, who was a standout the last time these clubs met, opened the score on the power play.In the second period, Trent Frederic extended the Bruins’ lead on a breakaway. However, Mitch Marner responded with a power-play goal for the Leafs. By the end of the second period, Morgan Geekie and Brandon Carlo had extended the Bruins’ advantage to three goals, denying the Leafs any chance of catching up.

The Leafs outshot the Bruins 10-5 in the third period, but it didn’t help them on the scoreboard.

Before the game, Bruins coaches Jim Montgomery and Brad Marchand stated that sweeping the season series would not matter in the playoffs since it is a different animal. And that is true. However, there is one apparent takeaway from these two games: if the Leafs have another gear versus playoff competition, now is the time to find it.