Montgomery questions Leafs-Bruins series schedule

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters Wednesday ahead of Game 3 he isn't a fan of the scheduling for their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The two teams will have an extra off-day following Wednesday's game, with Game 4 set for Saturday in Toronto.

"I would have rather been here Thursday/Saturday, if I'm being honest," Montgomery said. "I think we're spending more time in Toronto than Toronto's spending in Boston and we're the home team."

The Bruins hosted the Leafs at TD Garden for Game 1 Saturday on opening night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two nights later they played Game 2 in Boston before shifting to Toronto Wednesday for Game 3. 

Boston concluded their regular season at home against the Ottawa Senators last Tuesday. The Leafs played back-to-back games on the road in Florida last Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning Toronto had four straight road games scheduled between April 16 and April 22 between the end of the regular season and start of the playoffs. 

Game 5 of the first-round series will be next Tuesday in Boston and Games 6 and 7 will go next Thursday and next Saturday, respectively, if necessary.

Boston took the opener 5-1 but the Maple Leafs punched back with a 3-2 victory Monday night to even the series on a go-ahead goal by Auston Matthews late in the third period.