Getty ImagesTD Garden has been a house of horrors of late for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with their season on the line in Game 5, they survived to see another day thanks to a 2-1 victory. Game 6 is Sunday at Air Canada Centre.

After a scoreless first period, the Maple Leafs grabbed the lead on a Tyler Bozak shorthanded goal, their first since the centerman scored one on Feb. 7 versus the Winnipeg Jets.

As we see many times, a big save on one end of the ice leads to a goal on the other. That's what happened two minutes before Bozak's first of the playoffs when James Reimer, who finished with 43 saves, robbed Patrice Bergeron on the doorstep to keep the game scoreless:

Clarke MacArthur's goal 1:58 into the third period would stand as the game winner after Zdeno Chara cut the Toronto lead in half midway through the final period.

Maple Leafs fans spent the rest of the third period living and dying with each and every remaining scoring chance. Boston would outshoot Toronto 19-4 in the third, but Reimer stood tall stopping 18 of them to keep their season alive for at least one more game.

The Maple Leafs have made a habit of not making things easy in the postseason. Five of their last seven playoff series dating back to 2001 have gone seven games. Will they make it six of eight?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Getty ImagesPreview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET. (Bruins lead series 3-1) Matt Bartkowski is in and Wade Redden is out as the Bruins get their first crack at eliminating the Maple Leafs. History is not on the Leafs' side tonight. Toronto has won just 3 of their last 15 games at TD Garden. Subbing in for the injured Mark Fraser on the Leafs blueline will be John-Michael Liles, who has not played since Game 1.

Preview: New York Rangers at Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. ET (Series tied 2-2) One lineup change entering Game 5 tonight: Martin Erat will be scratched with an upper-body injury. Enter rookie Tom Wilson for the Capitals. Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said Friday morning that he will not play tonight, and could possibly be out for the rest of the series as he recovers from an eye injury. Steve Eminger will once again take his place.

Hockey Hugs is a feature that celebrates the best in hugging from around the sport of hockey, because who doesn't love a good hug now and then? Have you seen a particularly good hug photo lately? Send it to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet it to @HarrisonMooney.

Welcome once again to Hockey Hugs.

It's playoff time, which means this week's hugs are a little bigger, a little tighter, and a little more emotional. It means hugs like the one above, where the Rangers get together in a corner for a quick snuggle before a shift. That's Ryan Callahan, looking back at John Tortorella, who's screaming at them to get to the faceoff dot.

But before we get to today's batch of NHL calibre dude-huggery, we have to take a moment and appreciate this big squeeze from Game 2 of the QMJHL's Presidents Cup Final. Watch these two members of the Halifax Mooseheads bring it in for a goodbye squeeze before one of them is thrown out at the 2:05 mark:

And here it is in gif form. Adorable.

Anyway. Let us now come together and watch the NHL's finest do the same.

(Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. We've asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The bloggers who hated them the most. Here are Chicago Blackhawks bloggers CT, Morph, Slak, Thrillho, Umlaut, Forklift and Big Cheyenne of Hockeenight.com, fondly recalling the Minnesota Wild. Again, this was not written by us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it, so don't take it so seriously.)

By HockeeNight.com

Dearly beloved:

We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of the Minnesota Wild, who were put to an early death by a Chelsea Dagger.

At least those of you mourning the demise of your heroes can be comforted in the knowledge that the end was quick and painless.

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

Getty Images• It was then that Brenden Dillon regretted having that third sno-cone for lunch.

• Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne believe the Hart Trophy voting is a product of EAST COAST BIAS. "The only time the media in the East sees anyone in the West is when we play them," Getzlaf said. "You're not going to see our games, the media, staying up to 1 or 2 in the morning to watch." Which obviously explains why neither Corey Perry nor Henrik Sedin has ever won the Hart. [ESPN]

• Jonathan Toews, not a whiner: “I think there's another guy across the room there (Patrick Kane) that deserves it just as much, probably more.” [Between The Circles]

• Nineteen-year-old Tom Wilson will make his debut for the Washington Capitals in Game 5, described as a Milan Lucic type. [WashPost]

• If the Leafs beat the Bruins in Game 5, the Caps and Rangers play Game 6 at 4:30 pm. on Sunday; if Boston wins, the game is at 7:30 p.m.

• Ilya Kovalchuk and the Russians seem to be having fun at worlds: “Ilya Kovalchuk loses it in the final seconds of the game, cross-checks a Finnish d-man high repeatedly until he goes down.” [Linus Hogosson]

• Jesse Spector looks to do some debunking: “It really should not come as a surprise that teams who already have beaten an opponent three times in a series have a good track record at winning a fourth—they have won three games for a reason, which generally is that they're better. The teams who get to three wins and then let their opponent force a Game 7 still have a 75-69 record in deciding contests, a .521 winning percentage that is better than teams' in Game 4 up 2-1.” [Sporting News]

• In praise of NBC Sports: “The NHL is not the most enlightened enterprise, not when it locks out once every decade, eschews meaningful revenue sharing, shelters foundering franchises and imports officials from ancient Byzantium. Yet, credit must be given where it is due, and the NHL is shaping up well on the NBC Sports networks. One might even say that it is better off on NBC than in some dark corner of Bristol. Boo yah.” [Dispatch]

• An in-depth look at how New York Islanders fans troll Sidney Crosby. [PSAMP]

Getty ImagesThe bad news for Colorado Avalanche fans: Greg Sherman is still the general manager of a team that’s failed to make the playoff for three straight seasons and cost head coach Joe Sacco his job.

The good news: He's really not in charge of anything anymore, and is going to have to answer to Joe Sakic.

The Avalanche on Friday announced a reshuffling their front office that saw the most popular player in franchise history (sorry, Chris Gratton) play a much more prominent role in its decision making.

From the Avs:

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that Josh Kroenke has been named President and Joe Sakic has been named Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. Pierre Lacroix will remain with the organization as an advisor.

“Beginning today, I will be assuming the responsibilities as Avalanche team President,” said Kroenke. “Having had the privilege of learning under a mentor like Pierre Lacroix, and then spending the past few seasons as Governor, I feel ready to become much more involved on a daily basis.”

“I am thrilled to announce that Joe Sakic has agreed to become Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Avalanche,” continued Kroenke. “In that role, Joe will be in charge of all hockey-related decisions moving forward. With his credentials, presence and knowledge of the game, Joe will be a key ingredient in making sure that together we reach our future goals.”

The Avs said that “Sherman will continue to be in charge of contract negotiations and be the Avalanche’s contact with the league office and its member teams.” No word if he’ll also be responsible for getting Sakic’s lunch and/or dry cleaning, going forward ...

So the Avalanche have their John Elway. And for a fan base that’s sick of watching this franchise flail about, handing the keys to a living legend can’t be bad from a marketing perspective.

Getty ImagesNew York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal returned after a two-month absence for Game 3 against the Washington Capitals. But on the morning of Game 4, he took himself out of the lineup and may not play the rest of the series.

Meeting with reporters on Friday morning in Washington, Staal ruled himself out for Game 5 and said a return to the series is unknown at this point.

From the Bergen Record:

“Not much, I’ll wake up tomorrow and go at it again,” Staal said before being asked whether he believes he’ll play again in the series. “I don’t know. With this thing, the way I’ve been dealing with it is I wake up in the morning and take it from there. I couldn’t speculate one way or another.”

Staal was on the ice Friday morning, but wouldn't go into detail why he ruled himself out for Games 4 and 5, and possibly the rest of the series. After taking a puck to the eye in March, blurred vision and a depth perception that's not 100 percent have been part of what's kept him out of the lineup.

He had also took part in the morning skate of Game 4, but said "it didn't go particularly well as the day went on."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

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It's a Friday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Star: Dmitry Chesnokov joins us to talk Sochi Olympics, Ilya Bryzgalov and other NHL matters.

• Bidding adieu to the Wild and the Canadiens.

• Recapping the Stanley Cup Playoffs

• The terrible Mike Gillis press conference.

• GAME SHOW FRIDAY

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