The Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden on Tuesday. Toronto will hold a media availability at Scotiabank Arena at 5:15 pm on Wednesday ahead of their game against the New York Rangers.
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After seeing Nikita Zadorov hammer John Tavares with an illegal hit in the second period of Tuesday’s game, Easton Cowan immediately skated over to confront the 6-foot-7, 255-pound Bruins defenceman.
“You just kind of black out and go for it,” the 6-foot, 190-pound Leafs rookie said.
“I really appreciated it,” said Tavares before cracking a smile. “I mean, he’s feeling pretty tall right now, I guess.”
Cowan and Zadorov, who are both alumni of the London Knights, actually lived in the same billet house during their Ontario Hockey League days.
“Hopefully my billet parents aren’t too mad,” Cowan said with a grin.
Tavares made a point of thanking Cowan as the players left the ice following the second period.
“He plays with a lot of emotion,” the veteran centre said. “You can feel his excitement on a daily basis just getting up and getting to play and compete. I remember being in those shoes so it’s invigorating and it’s exciting. I think the world of him. Overall, he continues to grow and make his mark and prove that he belongs.”
Cowan had vowed to learn from what happened earlier this month when Anaheim Ducks defenceman Radko Gudas injured Auston Matthews with a knee-on-knee hit and the four other Leafs skaters on the ice, including Cowan, did not jump in immediately.
Cowan fought Jackson LaCombe in the third period of that game on March 12 after the Ducks defenceman hit Nick Robertson. The kid is a quick study.
“I think playing in London and being around the Hunter brothers [GM Mark and coach Dale] and learning about how to do things right, that’s a big part of it,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “He’s just got a lot of character.”
Easton Cowan has uncle Kyle on Leafs Mentors Trip
What does he think his uncles’ reaction was to him going after Zadorov?
“He would’ve loved for sure. He would’ve definitely loved that” @BarDown
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 25, 2026
Cowan did not register a point or shot in Boston, but the 20-year-old received the player-of-the-game belt following the 4-2 win.
“He’s a spark plug on our team,” said goalie Anthony Stolarz. “Somebody that when he’s going, everyone else cheers for. He’s an easy guy to cheer for. We love him. He’s a hard worker. Obviously with it being his first year in the league, for him to jump in and step up like that means a lot to the morale of the group.”
The Leafs are playing out the stretch in a lost season, but Cowan is providing the franchise and the fan base with reasons for optimism.
“He’s extremely mature,” said winger Matthew Knies, who is the second-youngest player on the team at 23. “Super professional, takes care of himself, fun to be around. His young energy is important in this locker room. I think we have a little bit of an older team, so it’s good to have his presence in the locker room.”
Zadorov received a major penalty for boarding and dropped the gloves with Dakota Joshua shortly after exiting the box.
“Guys are getting in there and protecting their teammates, which is good,” said Berube. “Got to give Easton a lot of credit. Young kid, you know, going after a big man, and then Dak taking care of business. It’s really good to see the team stuff like that.”
‘Black out and go for it’: Leafs love Cowan’s character after rookie confronts Zadorov Easton Cowan immediately confronted Nikita Zadorov after the 6-foot-7 Bruins defenceman levelled John Tavares with an illegal check. “You just kind of black out and go for it,” the 6-foot rookie said. Leafs teammates applauded Cowan’s character after the game.
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With the Leafs killing a penalty earlier in the second period, Knies deflected a pass to the point and beat Mason Lohrei to the loose puck before shrugging off the 6-foot-5 defenceman and skating in on a breakaway.
“It was just a battle for the puck and got the best of it and found some daylight and just had to bury it,” Knies told TSN in an intermission interview.
Knies made a nice move to beat Jeremy Swayman, who is among the top goaltenders in the league this season.
“I have a few moves that tend to work so that was one of them,” Knies said. “Pretty lucky it went in there.”
The goal was the first for Knies while shorthanded in the NHL and another reminder of the type of impact the 6-foot-3, 232-pound University of Minnesota product can make.
“Even though we’re all very aware of how strong he is, it always just impresses you when he pulls it off,” Tavares said. “His ability to just be so strong and just how physically mature he is. He’s a beast, and a very unique player at his age to have that type of strength and then after that to have the soft hands and the poise and touch to score a beauty like that. So he’s got a nice package as a player. We’re obviously very lucky to have him.”
Knies drew a late tripping penalty on Casey Mittelstadt before scoring an empty-net goal to secure the win. He’s up to 59 points on the season, which is a new career high.
“Knies was really good all around,” Berube said. “Just that goal was a huge goal for us, just the power he presents and strength in skating. I thought he was really good all night, though, for us. Did a lot of good things.”
“I felt like I was moving,” said Knies, who has managed a nagging knee injury this season. “I was being physical. Yeah, getting to the net, getting shots on that. Yeah, I thought our whole line played well … Everyone kind of chipped in, so it was good to see.”
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Stolarz only faced 20 shots, but made several key stops when Boston led 1-0 and had a series of power play chances.
“He made some fantastic saves,” Berube said. “The East-West plays, you know, we were shorthanded quite a bit (five times). We took too many penalties, and I thought that he came up big a few times there.”
Stolarz wore a dangling neck protector but showed no ill effects from the shot to the throat he took from William Nylander in warm-up on Saturday, which forced him to miss a scheduled start in Ottawa.
“He’s been playing great,” said Nylander before chuckling. “Thankfully he only missed one game after my shot .”
Stolarz is 2-1-2 with a .920 save percentage since the calendar flipped to March.
“Since the [Olympic] break, I’ve been playing exceptionally well,” Stolarz said. “So, I kind of just wanted to keep that rolling. Obviously, I looked out at the other end and one of the better goalies in the league in Swayman, so you know that you have to be on your game. He played fantastic too, you know, kind of go back and forth save for save. So, games like that for a goalie are pretty exciting.”
‘He’s been playing great’: Nylander thankful Stolarz only missed one game after his shot Maple Leafs forward William Nylander joins Mark Masters to discuss what he liked about Easton Cowan’s fight against the Bruins, and how Anthony Stolarz played between the pipes.
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The Leafs drew motivation from having some special guests in the building. The team is holding its annual Mentors Trip with each player inviting someone to join them in Boston and at the home game Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.
Stolarz brought his big brother Todd.
“Hopefully he thought it was pretty good,” Stolarz said. “I was trying to get a goal for him, too.”
But Stolarz never got a look with the puck on his stick before Knies scored.
“Sorry I couldn’t get that for him,” he said with a grin. “But, it’s exciting to get the two points in front of all the mentors here. Obviously, they’ve all meant a lot to us.”
Tavares invited his father-in-law.
“He was fired up,” the 35-year-old beamed.
Nylander fired a game-high six shots on net and potted the game-winning goal much to the delight of his sister.
“It’s her first time in Boston so it’s a great start,” the Swede said. “Lucky charm.”
Gritty winger Michael Pezzetta had his brother in attendance as he suited up for the third time with his hometown team
“Special to share this moment with him,” the Toronto native said in an intermission interview. “Just had a baby last week, so shout out Felix!”
Tuesday marked the first time the Leafs outshot an opponent in a win since Jan. 31 against the Vancouver Canucks, who are in the basement of the league.
It’s been a long time since the Leafs felt this way after a win.
“I mean, hands down our best game in a long time,” said Tavares, who recorded three points in a game for the first time since October. “The way we just kind of stuck with the game all night. There were some things I don’t think always went our way but, you know, we didn’t let it snowball and let that momentum kind of go against us. I think we just kept fighting, kept competing, and stayed with it and put them under a lot of pressure.”
Stolarz hoped to score, but settled for a win as Leafs put on show for their mentors John Tavares says the Leafs played their “best game in a long time” Tuesday. The team was motivated to put on a show for special guests in attendance for the Mentors Trip. Anthony Stolarz was hoping to score a goal late in the game for his brother, but settled for a win.
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Lines at Rangers skate on Wednesday:
Perreault – Zibanejad – Lafrenière
Kartye – Miller – Sheary
Cuylle – Trocheck – Sykora
Raddysh – Brodzinski – Chmelar
Gavrikov – Fox
Schneider – Borgen
Robertson – Iorio
Shesterkin
#NYR lines and D pairs at morning skate:
Perreault-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Kartye-Miller-Sheary
Cuylle-Trocheck-Sýkora
Raddysh-Brodzinski-Chmelař
Gavrikov-Fox
Schneider-Borgen
Robertson-Iorio
Fortescue took a rep with Robertson and there was some rotating on D.
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) March 25, 2026
Leafs lines to start Tuesday’s game:
Cowan – Tavares – Nylander
Knies – Domi – Robertson
Maccelli – Groulx – Joshua
Pezzetta – Quillan – Lorentz
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Stecher
Stolarz
Woll
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