ESPN

BOSTON -- Before the Bruins’ 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 1 on Wednesday night, Wade Redden told the media that he was excited to be back playing in the playoffs and in the Bruins lineup. The defenseman, acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, wasn’t about to get sentimental in the face of his first postseason game in 2009 with the Rangers, but it was clear that Redden was relishing the opportunity.

Redden made the best of a chance he most likely thought he’d never have again, spending the last two seasons buried in the AHL with the Rangers’ affiliate, the Connecticut Whale. He helped jump start the Bruins' offense, erasing an early 1-0 Toronto lead with a goal 16:20 into the first period. He then rifled a shot from the point that Nathan Horton tipped in for a power-play goal that proved to be the game-winner.

After the game, Redden acknowledged some satisfaction but was more concerned with crediting his teammates and looking ahead to Game 2.

“It was a great effort all around,” Redden said. “I think everyone had a strong game and we had played, I think, a lot of the time in their end. That makes a D-man’s job a lot easier. For sure we’re going to expect a different game come Saturday night, but we’ll take that one and move on.

“It’s been a long road. Obviously, the position I was in, a lot of uncertainties. But I kept working and kept believing. It’s great to be here now and have the chance, and I’m going to try to make the most of it.”

While Redden may have wanted to deflect attention, his teammates and coach weren’t about to downplay what a great story he appears to be scripting.

“I was really happy for him,” Julien said. “I think I said that this morning, he’s a player that has gone through some rough times. What we’ve tried to do when he came here is make him feel welcome, make him feel appreciated, and give him some confidence that way. So far, it’s paid dividends.”

Redden’s blue-line mate, Andrew Ference, echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“Everybody is really happy for him,” Ference said. “His whole last two years just to get back playing at this level out of the AHL and now to be able to contribute for us in the playoffs, guys are very happy for him. He’s got a lot of respect not just in this room, but you could tell just with his old teammates and stuff, he’s a well-respected player.”

BOSTON -- For the past two days, the Boston Bruins insisted their late-season funk was in the rearview mirror. There would be no more blown leads in the third period and no more lackluster starts. The skilled and physical Bruins would return.

Well, the Bruins kept their promises as they overcame an early Toronto Maple Leafs power-play goal and scored the next four goals, dominating the Leafs 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

David Krejci had a goal and two assists, Wade Redden had a goal and an assist and Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk both lit the lamp for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask looked solid between the pipes, making 19 saves, with James van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal in the opening period the only shot that beat him.

For the Leafs, James Reimer was under siege all night as the Bruins poured 40 shots on him.

Lucic-Krejci-Horton line clicks again: One of the big question marks heading into this series was whether Milan Lucic, Krejci and Horton could find their magic again. If Game 1 is any indication, the band is back together and the magic is there. In addition to Krejci’s three-point performance and Horton lighting the lamp, Lucic had two helpers and continued to look more like the Lucic who used a combination of grit, size and skating to earn two straight seasons of 20-plus goals. The chemistry was back as Horton and Lucic got to open spaces to benefit from Krejci’s playmaking skills, and Krejci looked a lot like the player who was a candidate for the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Bruins defense provides offensive boost: Prior to Game 1, coach Claude Julien lauded Redden for his recent play and puck-moving skills. Redden continued to impress with his goal and an assist, but the Bruins' entire defense did a great job of moving the puck and creating offense in Game 1. In addition to Boychuk's goal, Bruins defensemen helped in peppering Reimer and controlling neutral zone play.

Power play looks better: While the Bruins’ power play (1-for-5) can certainly still be better, it did convert once and moved the puck a lot better. The passes were crisp, and there was less hesitation. If that continues, the scoring production will increase.

Suspension coming for Ference? Andrew Ference could very well be sitting out a game or more after elbowing Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski in the head in the first period. No penalty was called, but the replay clearly shows an elbow to the head.

Bruins have two goals called back: Things could have been even worse for the Leafs if not for two Bruins goals being called back. The referees and replay officials got it right in calling back a Tyler Seguin shot that clearly rang off the post 1:10 into the second period. But Patrice Bergeron’s no-goal was a bit questionable as the referees claimed the whistle was blown before Bergeron pushed it into the net. But even if the refs were wrong, the rule states if they intended to blow it and didn’t do it in time, then it’s still not a goal.

Bad blood boils at end: In addition to Ference’s questionable hit to the head of Grabovski, there was plenty of hard hitting throughout the game. As time wound down in the third period and it was clear the Bruins would win, the Leafs decided to let the Bruins know they were still there, taking plenty of extra hits after the whistle and then stirring things up at the final buzzer. The result was a Chris Kelly-Leo Komarov fight. It should be a physical Game 2.

Hamilton and Peverley sit: Not surprisingly, Julien kept Dougie Hamilton in the press box as a healthy scratch. The defenseman struggled in his last few games of the regular season, and Julien seems to have opted to take the learning-from-up-top route he took with Seguin as a rookie to start the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. While Rich Peverley might have had an off season, one would think Julien would prefer playoff and Cup experience in the lineup instead of an inexperienced Kaspars Daugavins. But it was Daugavins playing with Kelly and Jaromir Jagr for Game 1.

Here’s what the rest of the lineup looked like:

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Daugavins-Kelly-Jagr
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Ference-Boychuk
Redden-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Rask
Anton Khudobin

BOSTON -- When Wade Redden was acquired from the Blues at the NHL trade deadline last month, it was understood by all that it was a depth move by GM Peter Chiarelli. In fact, it was such a depth move that Boston sent a conditional 2014 seventh-round pick to St. Louis in the deadline deal, with the pick becoming a 2014 sixth-rounder if he plays at least one playoff game in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. That pick will very likely change to a sixth-rounder tonight as Redden figures to be in the Bruins lineup when they host the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals series at TD Garden.

Redden has earned head coach Claude Julien’s trust, playing like the puck-moving defenseman that patrolled the Ottawa blue line in their heyday in the mid-2000s and that helped lead them to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007 (the Senators lost to the Randy Carlyle-coached Ducks in five games). He had a goal and in an assist in the final three games of the Bruins' regular season, and Julien believes Redden’s experience and recent play can help Boston in the playoffs.

“I think Wade feels pretty good about himself right now,” Julien said. “I mean, he’s
had some tough years, as far as where he was, whether how he’s been traded and
everything else, but he’s come in here and he’s got a fresh chance to prove himself.
The games that he played, he moved the puck extremely well. His experience is
invaluable, and his confidence right now is pretty good. When you have Wade in that
zone, he becomes a pretty good player.”

Those tough years Julien spoke of came after Redden signed a six-year, $39 million deal with the Rangers in the summer of 2008 but then watched his game decline so drastically that he ended up playing for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford for the last two seasons. Thanks to the rules of the former CBA, the Rangers couldn’t bring him back up and be totally exempt from his salary even if a team claimed him. So Redden was held hostage basically until the Rangers used a tool of the new CBA, the compliance buyout, and freed him from hockey purgatory. Redden was signed by the Blues early this season, and now with the Bruins he has a chance at the Stanley Cup again.

A clearly excited Redden told the media after the Bruins’ morning skate that he is just going to go out, play his game and be thankful for another opportunity in the playoffs.

“You never know what’s in store for you,” Redden said. “I went down, I approached
the game [the way] I always have. That hasn’t changed today, so I’m just going to play my
game, go out there and have some fun. I’m looking forward to it. This is what we all play for this time of year. Everything is on the line, so it’s going to be fun. I’m going to try to
enjoy as much as I can. It’s obviously an intense atmosphere. To try to go out there,
play loose and play free. That’s the best way to approach it.”

Redden, 35, joked that he is envious of the young Bruins core that has already won a Stanley Cup.

“You gotta go out, earn the right to get it, and obviously these guys did at a young age,” Redden said. “I’m happy to be here with them now.”

BOSTON -- Just before Wednesday’s trade deadline, the Boston Bruins pulled off a trade for veteran defenseman Wade Redden from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a draft pick, a team source told ESPNBoston.com. The pick is reportedly a seventh-rounder in 2014.

Redden joins future Hall of Fame winger Jaromir Jagr and AHL center Rob Flick as the team’s additions for the stretch run.

The 35-year-old Redden will be reunited with former Ottawa Senators teammate and current Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. The two played together in Ottawa from 2001-2006.

Redden, a former first-round draft pick (second overall), played 23 games for the Blues this season. He spent the previous two seasons in the AHL with the New York Rangers' affiliate, the Connecticut Whale.

When Chiarelli was first hired by the Bruins prior to the 2006-2007 season, Redden and Chara were both on the on Boston’s radar before Chara signed as free agent.

Redden adds depth to Boston’s blue line. It was not immediately clear whether the Bruins consider him a top-six defender.

The Bruins sent AHL forward Max Suave to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Flick.

The 22-year-old Flick played 51 games for the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs this season, and collected three goals and two assists for five points. The 6-foot-3, 208-pounder also has 97 penalty minutes. Chicago drafted him in the fourth round (120th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft.

The Bruins originally drafted Sauve in the second round (47th overall) in the 2008 draft. He’s spent the last three seasons with the P-Bruins and never developed the way the Bruins hoped he would. In 52 games this season in Providence, Sauve recorded 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, including a plus-3 rating.

Information from ESPNBoston.com's James Murphy was used in this report.