May 6, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Greg Croni diagrams a play as head coach Randy Carlyle looks on during game three of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins at the Air Canada Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

After a devastating Game 4 loss in overtime, the Maple Leafs travel to Boston to try and steer the series back through Toronto.

Despite out-shooting the Bruins in both home games, the Leafs were unable to salvage a win in either of them. The story in Toronto has been turnovers. Dion Phaneuf had an especially woeful Game 3 and he capped off another unimpressive Game 4 with a costly error in overtime.

Much has been made of the pinch he made with all three forwards below the hashmarks, but his play over the course of the last two games should be even more worrisome.

In my last piece, I dedicated to the focus on the captain’s struggles and how Jake Gardiner’s leash needed to be cut loose. Carlyle did just that.

Through the opening 40 minutes, Gardiner led the team in ice time. He did not disappoint. Equally as impressive as his skill was his speed. Against the big bad Bruins, this bodes well.

Despite his stand-out game and plus-1 rating, it was Phaneuf who ended up with the team-leading 31 minutes. He also finished with the team’s worst plus-minus rating at minus-2.

Needless to say, Gardiner’s ice time is paramount to a Leafs win tonight. With Mark Fraser injured and Jean-Michael Liles set to enter the lineup, the fast-break offense will look to present itself in Boston.

“Ever since Game 1, they’ve really taken over the series,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. “The scoreboards don’t really reflect how this series has gone.”

At the centre of this dominance has been the quick-paced offense. It began in the late stages of the opening frame in Game 2. The Leafs began chipping pucks just over the tightly-pinched Bruins defensemen to cause odd-man rushes all night, en route to their only win of the series.

The key to the series has been the utilization of their speed. It’s become clear that stopping the Krejci line will be next-to-impossible — Fraser’s injury certainly doesn’t help — so Toronto will have to rely on their offense to beat Tuukka Rask.

Rask hasn’t been given much credit in the back-to-back wins in Toronto, but his performance has been remarkable. The sheer number of scoring chances, and quality of them, have also gone largely unnoticed simply because Rask makes it look that easy. Yes, he was a first round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs a few years ago.

Nevertheless, the keys to victory in Boston tonight include much of the same. In order to nullify the Bruins getting their sticks on everything, the Leafs need to continue the quick pace. Look for Randy Carlyle to call on Matt Frattin more in Game 5. He had a solid fourth game, hitting the post in overtime, and is the Jake Gardiner of the forward group.

Frattin brings a unique combination of speed, skill and play-making ability. He’s seen an unwarranted low-number of minutes this series, as he’s played extremely well in the last three games.

I expect James Reimer to rise to the occasion and make some big saves early. It’s important the team gets off to a quick start and that includes the man behind the mask.

Feb 2, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) warms up before playing against the Boston Bruins at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Last, but most certainly not least, Dion Phaneuf.

Through all the criticism of his overtime hiccup, I believe he comes to play tonight.

He’ll look to take the crowd out of the game with some thunderous hits and probably throws every attempt on net. Also watch for Colton Orr to get big minutes again early on in order to keep the Bruins on their toes physically. But for the Leafs to get the series back to Toronto, they need their captain to step up in a big way.

The hockey gods are clearly not on our side, but the blue and white have played better than the 1-3 record shows. However, justice will be served tonight and the Leafs will take the series to seven games.

The trek up the mountain begins tonight in Boston at 7 p.m.

Go Leafs Go.

Mar. 21, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) during a game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

A night full of promise. The first playoff game at the Air Canada Centre since 2004 gave the Leafs some added jump. Well, most of them.

Everywhere I went today, someone would look at my Maple Leafs car flag and comment on what a “debacle” Monday night was. It got me thinking, did the Leafs really play that badly?

During the game I became furious with two members of the blue and white. One of them on the bench, the other behind it.

Dion Phaneuf became a turnover machine and looked completely out of sorts when carrying the puck. He couldn’t make a pass, couldn’t keep the puck inside the blueline on the power play and kept turning the puck over.

Even still, throughout the first 40 minutes, Phaneuf continued to play on the top power play unit and take the bulk of the minutes on the back end. All the while, Jake Gardiner remained on the second unit and had his minutes closely monitored.

Every Leafs power play had the same complexion, a heavy dose of turnovers from the captain for the first minute and a half, then a couple of scoring chances in the last 30 seconds from Gardiner.

Even after Gardiner scored late in a man advantage when taking over a lack-luster effort from Phaneuf and company, Gardiner remained on the second unit.

The very next shift after the Gardiner goal, Phaneuf proceeded to carry the puck across the Leaf blueline and attempt a meaningless pass to an in-stride Phil Kessel just feet away from him. This hiccup bounced onto a Bruin stick and ended up in the back of the Leaf net just seconds later.

This summed up Phaneuf’s game overall, turning the puck over and horrid pass attempts. All night long, his passes were either way off the mark or too hard for anyone to handle. All night long, Gardiner continued to create open ice and scoring chances seemingly every shift.

Only in the third period, when the Leafs were down 4-1, did Gardiner’s minutes see a significant increase.

Mar. 21, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle watches his team play from the bench against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Enter the second culprit, Randy Carlyle.

On top of the misuse of Gardiner, one of Toronto’s most electric forwards was rarely used.

Like Gardiner, Matt Frattin barely got any minutes until the game was out of reach in the third period. This is a real head-scratcher when considering his impact in Game 2.

Frattin has had a bit of a dry spell since returning from his injury, but he was one of the team’s most effective offensive players during the regular season.

Is it any coincidence the Leafs finished the third period with 18 shots to Boston’s six and 47-37 overall? Of course the Bruins were in lockdown mode with a three goal lead in the final frame, but that’s a huge margin.

Back to point number one, the Leafs played well overall. The top line was effective and Mikhail Grabovski had another positive game despite not finding twine. Even Nikolai Kulemin raised some eyebrows with some great chances, namely the filthy dangle in the early going that found the far post.

The Leafs were generating scoring chances and hitting goal posts all game long, yet the Bruins seemed to have every Leaf turnover find their sticks.

The hockey gods simply were not wearing blue and white Monday night.

Should Carlyle make any lineup changes? I would say no. Although he needs to get over the fact that Gardiner is not physical and give him minutes for his offensive creativity.

As an analytic fan, the only defenseman I have any confidence in, in carrying the puck, is Jake Gardiner. I would also play Frattin with Nazem Kadri. He’s had a very quiet series, but both players have excellent hands and creative hockey minds.

Toronto is not going to win this series with defense or goaltending, in spite of how well James Reimer has played. Offense is the name of the game and those odd-man breaks have to be the focal point of the Leaf attack. Those attacks will come with giving Frattin, Gardiner and Kadri some more ice time.

The Bruins lack speed and the Leafs don’t. This has been exposed very well by Carlyle, who coached a brilliant first two games but let his stubborn side eek through and let Game 3 slip away from him.

Leafs Nation, don’t give in to everyone who just saw the score on the bottom of the screens, the Leafs played well Monday night and will clean up those turnovers to bounce back for an even better in Game 4.

Expect a ton of hitting and relentless forechecking. I am predicting a Grabovski goal and an Orr fight. Way to go after Kessel, Marchand. You will feel the wrath of the toughest team in the league. Maybe Phaneuf bounces back strong with a good tussle?

Game 4 will go down Wednesday night in Toronto.

Go Leafs Go!