There’ve been moments in the rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Bruins when it seems as though the weight of the pressure is heavy enough to break a man.
James Reimer somehow shrunk on that infamous night in 2013 when the Bruins made a furious Game 7 charge from 4-1 down to induce indelible scars. And as dependably excellent as Frederik Andersen performed for the bulk of his run as the Leafs’ No. 1, he’s inevitably remembered for the uncharacteristic cracks he displayed in a pair of Game 7 losses in Boston in 2018 and 2019.
Not that there’s any telling what will happen in the latest chapter in Toronto-Boston Game 7 history. Recent history could suggest the Bruins have a psychological edge, having gone three for three in winner-take-all contests against Toronto in the past 11 years. And Toronto, let’s not sugar-coat it, hasn’t eliminated Boston from the playoffs since 1959. But if there’s a new twist to the age-old plot, it’s this: This time around, it’s the Bruins who are showing the more obvious signs of strain.
Repeatedly reminded of their first-round collapse a year ago, when the best regular season in NHL history was set ablaze with the unthinkable squandering of a 3-1 series lead over Florida, if the Bruins don’t win Saturday, they’ll become the first team in any of the North American big-league sports to be eliminated after holding a 3-1 lead in consecutive post-seasons.
You can certainly sense discomfort in the voice of Boston coach Jim Montgomery, who called out leading scorer David Pastrnak in his post-Game 6 press conference.
“Your best players need to be your best players this time of year … They need to come through with big-time plays in big-time moments,” Montgomery said. “(Brad) Marchand has done that in the series. Pasta needs to step up.”
“Pasta needs to step up.”
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 3, 2024
Jim Montgomery on Pastrnak needing to come through in big time moments. pic.twitter.com/dF5Vv2JuNz
If it doesn’t compute that the Bruins, who pride themselves on a team-first culture, are pointing to an individual to deliver them to the second round, maybe it’s just Montgomery replaying what some might consider a motivational masterstroke. It was after Game 5 of last year’s series with the Panthers that Montgomery publicly chided Pastrnak for his relative lack of production. At that point, he had two goals in five games. But Boston’s No. 88 was coming off a career-high 61-goal season.
“I am not a mathematician, but is that a 40 goal-pace?” Montgomery said of Pastrnak’s playoff output.
Actually, it was closer to a 32-goal pace.
“If he gets two next time, he is back to a 60-goal pace and that is what we expect, and that is what he has shown for us,” Montgomery said.
The good news, for Montgomery, was that Pastrnak responded with two goals in Game 6 and another in Game 7 against the Panthers. The bad news was that even Pastrnak providing something close to his usual share of the offensive load didn’t carry the day. Though Pastrnak finished the playoffs scoring at a 58-goal rate, his Bruins lost both Games 6 and 7.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe, to his credit, has so far avoided such missteps. And suddenly it’s the Leafs, purveyors of the me-first team-building template that gave about half of the salary cap to a mere four players, who have spent the past two victories finally playing an all-for-one, one-for-all brand of the game to near perfection.
In a lot of ways, the Leafs appear to be doing their best to mimic the Panthers, who’ve built a fearsome reputation for a dump-and-chase style that features the league’s most relentless forecheck. Toronto’s been making plenty of hay, and enjoying plenty of offensive-zone time, by often eschewing once-prized controlled zone entries in favour of a relentless emphasis on puck retrievals. It’s allowed the Leafs to mostly eliminate the turnovers at the opposing blue line that have often been a recipe for odd-man rushes the other way — the turning point of more than one playoff loss in recent years.
“We have guys with a lot of skill who can make plays through the neutral zone, but our start to the game has to begin with the forecheck, begin with work, and begin with competing,” Keefe explained earlier in the series. “That is the playoffs. That is what this series certainly demands.”
It’s possible none of it means anything. Maybe Game 7 comes down to a goaltending duel between Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Toronto’s Joseph Woll. First one to make a mistake probably loses. Or maybe after so many low-scoring, low-event games, the gravity of the moment finally breaks the levees of one team or another or both. Maybe the best players find a way to be the best players. Auston Matthews, the three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner who missed Games 5 and 6 to an undisclosed ailment, yet again seems doubtful. Luckily for the Leafs, they have more eight-figure earners where he came from.
Luckily for the Leafs, who’ve long been the franchise with a reputation for melting in the Game 7 cauldron, the Bruins appear vulnerable to a vanishing act.
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