LEAFS FORCE GAME 7 SHOWDOWN
Welcome to the 2018 Boston Marathon, featuring the Maple Be-Leafers.
For the second time in five years against the Bruins, the Leafs fought back from a 3-1 deficit to force a seventh game at TD Garden. That 2013 match ended in overtime heartbreak, but the Leafs will come back this time on the strength of two close wins, Game 5 there and Monday’s 3-1 thriller at the ACC.
After the heavier more playoffexperienced Bruins seemed to have out-played and out-coached Toronto, the Leafs have found their way in this opening round of the NHL playoffs, led by their goaltender.
Frederik Andersen made 32 saves and survived some hairy moments to put the club on the verge of its first full comeback from a 3-1 best-of-seven deficit since 1942.
Tomas Plekanec’s empty netter sealed it.
Toronto began the third period easily killing off the last 1:50 of a Nazem Kadri slashing penalty. At the very end, David Backes backed into Andersen with an elbow up. When that wasn’t called, Roman Polak tackled him and both went for roughing.
With 5:43 to go, the Leafs were also called on to kill Mitch Marner’s delay of game call, which needed a big save from Andersen on David Krejci after Kasperi Kapanen was foiled short-handed.
It was Kadri’s first home appearance of the series after his three-game suspension, centring William Nylander and Andreas Johnsson, as coach Mike Babcock went back to the blender on his lines. Kapanen went from the fourth line to Auston Matthews’ right side.
After a scoreless first period there were three goals in the opening minutes of the second, although only two counted.
The Bruins won key draws against the Matthews’ line with Krejci bouncing one off Jake DeBrusk through traffic at 1:02. That lead stood up just 35 seconds, with Nylander starting and finishing his own rush with a nice pass and then knocking in a Nikita Zaitsev rebound. Nylander had been blanked, and taken off the Matthews’ line.
Babcock decided to try the Matthews’ group against the Bruins’ best, Patrice Bergeron, on a draw deep in the Leafs end. Zach Hyman was able to end up with possession, digging out a puck in the crease at the other end and scoring on a nifty backhand. But before it could be added to the team’s highlight package, an angry Tuukka Rask was on the officials to reverse it. The ensuing challenge showed Hyman’s skate contacting the blocker and stick from Rask before he could pounce on the puck.
Andersen then went into his regular season routine of bailing out his teammates’ own-zone miscues. He was sharp after the DeBrusk goal, while a missed Brad Marchand clear at 13:25 went to Marner for a no-look backhand that Rask muffed. After leading the Leafs in the regular season, Marner is at a teamhigh seven playoff points.
The team scoring first had won the first five games in the series.
“Getting started on time, you can be above the puck and you don’t have to chase it and make poor decisions,” Babcock had said of that stat. “Obviously, it has worked better for us when were ahead.”
After allowing a weak firstminute goal in Game 4, the Leafs were more aggressive. Boston had the first two chances, both off turnovers to Andersen’s left. Riley Nash took it from Johnsson, forcing Andersen to flick out his right pad, Marchand was then the beneficiary of a Kapanen spinnerama move gone awry and though the latter got the puck between Andersen’s wickets, it rattled out just past the post. Andersen closed the first period by swiping away a floating rebound after stopping a hard point shot through traffic from Torey Krug.
The Leafs had the game’s first power play when DeBrusk batted a rebound over the glass, but Toronto was far too cute in its execution. A third period call on Charlie McAvoy was also unconverted which could have made life easier.
Babcock had pounded away at his “this is your time” message to his players before the match.
“You want to consider yourself partway through your career, at least by the end, that you’re a guy who got it done at this time when it mattered.
“I don’t think you’ve got to do special tings, I think you’ve got to do your job. You’ll be great together. We think of a big game and someone hot a home run, but it was all those plays before that guy to hit the home run.”
Game 7 goes at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Boston.