In the wake of Zdeno Chara's knee injury, no player has been looked upon to step up for the Boston Bruins more than Dougie Hamilton.

And on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hamilton responded with his best game of the year, notching a goal and two assists in Boston's 4-1 win. Hamilton played aggressively, recording four shots on goal while just missing wide on several other attempts.

Tuukka Rask stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced, his bid for a shutout ending when Richard Panik scored on a delayed penalty with 5:33 remaining in the third period.

The Bruins played with energy from the second the puck dropped until the final whistle blew. While Rask was his steady self in net, constantly in position and limiting the Maple Leafs' second chances, the offense kept up the pressure, culminating in Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier's removal after Hamilton's goal - the Bruins' fourth - in the third period.

Prior to Hamilton's goal, Carl Soderberg scored on the power play in the first, David Krejci rushed past an out of position Phil Kessel down the boards and stuffed one past Bernier in the second, and Gregory Campbell put one in on the shorthand in the third after receiving a strong pass from Daniel Paille. Hamilton's goal was the most impressive, as he accelerated through the neutral zone past Toronto's defensemen to put one past Bernier glove-side easily.

Meanwhile, the defense stepped up in Chara's absence, with Dennis Seidenberg (25:59) eating up more minutes than he had in any other game this season. Adam McQuaid also stepped up defensively, logging 21:57 on ice.

• As expected in their first game without Chara, the Bruins had a very different look. Seidenberg moved alongside Hamilton on the first defensive pairing. Torey Krug and McQuaid were the second pair while Matt Bartkowski and the recently called up Zach Trotman were the third pair. Joe Morrow was a healthy scratch.

When the Bruins were able to set up the way they like to on the power play, Milan Lucic took Chara's customary spot in front of the net, flanked by Seth Griffith and Brad Marchand on his sides. Krug and Krejci operated from the blue line as usual.

Shorthanded time was split among all six defensemen, primarily McQuaid and Seidenberg.

• Despite not registering on any of the Bruins scores, Marchand had a strong game offensively. He took five shots on net and skated with energy.

• Patrice Bergeron assisted on Soderberg's goal in the first, his 500th career point in the NHL. The point moved him into sole possession of 13th place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list. He also assisted on Hamilton's goal.