Phil Kessel was a mess.                   

Facing his former team for the third time in just over two weeks, the ex-Bruin continued to seem a bit unnerved while taking on the Boston defense Saturday.

Kessel turned the puck over to the Bruins, seemingly on demand. He hesitated. He backed down from contact.

Yet, when the final buzzer had sounded at Air Canada Centre, Kessel’s less than impressive performance was actually more effective than that of any of the forwards composing the current Bruins attack.

Kessel had a game-best four shots on goal, he had four more shots blocked and he put two more shots wide of the net. Ten attempts at creating offense.

The best contribution by a Bruins forward ?

Fourth-line grinder Shawn Thornton had seven combined shot attempts.

The end result of the no-show by the Bruins offense was a 2-0 loss to Kessel and the Maple Leafs as Tomas Kaberle scored in the second period, Jason Blake in the third and Jonas Gustavsson made 25 for his first NHL shutout, lifting Toronto to its first win over Boston this season.

“You don’t take away credit away from a guy who had a shutout, but from our team standpoint, I don’t think we really tested him,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien.

“We have guys who are paid to produce, and as long as they don’t produce, we’re going to be struggling that way,” said Julien. “Somehow we have to get better in that area to start winning games. If you keep relying on your fourth line to create the most offense, it’s not a good sign for your hockey club.” 

Some 15 days ago, the Bruins were swiftly skating to a 7-2 win over the Leafs. Five nights later, they took a 5-2 victory.

They have not won since.

With Saturday’s set back the suddenly struggling Bruins have lost four straight (0-2-2) and have dropped into third-place in the Northeast Division, six points behind the Buffalo Sabres.

As is the case when they are winning, most nights the Bruins are involved in competitive, close games that could break either way. Here are three things that didn’t break in the Bruins favor against the Leafs:   

RASK IS CAPABLE OF LETTING IN A BAD GOAL

Rookie goalie Tuukka Rask certainly did his part to put the Bruins in a position to win Saturday. He stopped 29 of 31 Toronto shots and backstopped a perfect 6-6 effort by Bruins penalty-killers.

Yet, Rask also departed from his usually unwavering form, misjudging and failing to stop Kaberle’s wrist shot from the far side of the right circle that gave Toronto a 1-0 advantage 2:24 into the second period.

The Leafs had not skated with a lead in 10 periods of hockey against the Bruins this season. The momentum of the Kaberle goal and Gustavsson’s strong play helped Toronto build its skating swagger and the Leafs outshot Boston 23-13 over the final two periods.

Blake helped secure the Toronto win, gathering a pass from Niklas Hagman inside the Bruins blue line, cutting to his left and sending a shot back against the flow over Rask’s left shoulder midway through the third.

Rask was not bad, but Gustavsson was just a little bit better, flawlessly demonstrating why the Leafs are optimistic that the 25-year-old former star of the Swedish Elite League is ready to become their top goaltender.

Saturday’s start was just Gustavsson’s second since being sidelined eight games with an irregular hear beat. 

AWOL OFFENSE

Julien continued to search for line combinations that would get the Bruins top offensive players in gear. Marc Savard skated with wingers Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder for a second game and the trip managed to generate just three shots on goal.

Savard has now gone five games without generating a point, often serving as a non-factor when on the ice. But he is not alone, Sturm has no points in four games, Ryder nothing in his last three games.

Byron Bitz may have had the Bruins best scoring chances Saturday. He was presented with time to launch shots from the slot in both the first and second period, but could not beat Gustavsson.

As a team, the Bruins have averaged just 1.75 goals per game during their current four game winless streak. They have given up an average of 3 goals per game.

THE INJURY BUG CONTINUES TO HIT DEFENSEMEN

Already beset with injuries among their defenseman, the Bruins lost Derek Morris with an injury for Saturday’s contest. With Morris joining the ranks of fellow injured blueliners Dennis Wideman and Mark Stuart (broken sternum), it was time for Adam McQuaid to skate in this first NHL game.

McQuaid had a tough debut, as he was on the ice for both Toronto goals. Things went better for Andy Wozniewski who logged 8:17 of ice time in his second game with the Bruins after being recalled from Providence this week. 

Johnny Boychuk also continued to make an impact, literally. He had nearly 25 minutes of ice time and leveled Toronto center Matt Stajan with a devastating mid-ice hit with 6:44 to go, leading to a brief scrum.

But that was probably the highlight of the night for the Bruins, who will look to regroup before completing their three-game road trip in Ottawa Monday.