The Boston Bruins are back in the full swing of things after the Four Nations Face-Off tournament, and they hosted rivals Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden, the site of the last several games of the tournament.
Both teams had a handful of players from various countries who participated, including Jeremy Swayman and Brad Marchand along with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews.
And while the Bruins seemed as though they were cruising toward a victory, the Maple Leafs quickly turned the tables on them. The Leafs earned a stunning come-from-behind 5-4 victory in overtime after initially trailing 3-0; their record improved to 36-20-2, while the Bruins fell to 27-24-8.
David Pastrnak got the scoring started for Boston just 29 seconds after the opening face-off; that lead was later increased to 2-0 thanks to Marchand later in the period.
The Bruins then made it 3-0 early in the second period thanks to Morgan Geekie before the Leafs began a comeback effort. Three goals from Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner and Nicholas Robertson wiped out what appeared to be an insurmountable Bruins advantage.
While the Bruins reclaimed the lead at the midway point of the third period thanks to the second goal of the game from Pastrnak, the Leafs once again responded to knot the score, this time courtesy of the red-hot Pontus Holmberg with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.
And in overtime, it was Mitch Marner playing the role of hero for the Maple Leafs as he did for Team Canada in their opening Four Nations matchup against Sweden with the game-winning goal.
Anthony Stolarz finished with 32 saves for the Leafs in a winning effort, while Jeremy Swayman was victimized for five goals on 29 shots.
3 least impressive Boston Bruins players from 5-4 OT loss to Toronto Maple Leafs
#1. Jeremy Swayman
Once again, serious questions are arising regarding the state of Boston's goaltending.
Swayman has not lived up to the massive new contract that he landed after a months-long holdout that caused him to miss all of training camp and the exhibition schedule.
Even though he's being paid as one of the top-six goaltenders in the NHL, his numbers do not match his considerable cap hit. He finished Tuesday's game with a .828 save percentage, nowhere near the kind of stat needed from a starter against a top Atlantic Division opponent.
#2. John Beecher
While Beecher may not have even played 10 total minutes against the Maple Leafs, he managed to tie for the team-worst -2 rating.
He also committed a giveaway.
#3. Brandon Carlo
It was not the best of nights for the Bruins defender, who not only was caught out of position on one of Toronto's goals but also committed two separate giveaways.
He also failed to show up on the scoresheet, finishing with zero points and zero shots.
The Bruins will look to bounce back when they host the New York Islanders next at TD Garden on Thursday.
Chiefs star Travis Kelce reveals the most 'shocking' aspect of Super Bowl defeat to Eagles