BOSTON – Sheldon Keefe told his players that hockey history will remember them in some way.
After falling 3-1 in their first-round playoff series a week ago, this iteration of the Maple Leafs – who fans and media alike thought was dead – could turn around and book their tee time.
Or push back and fight.
Keefe had no complaints as his group battled injuries and illness to stretch a patient, defensively strong opponent to its limits.
However, in the end, that effort still wasn’t enough.
David Pastrnak scored at 1:54 of overtime on Saturday, helping the Boston Bruins beat Toronto 2–1 in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I like how our team battled to get us into this position,” said Keefe, whose high-powered attack allowed just 12 field goals and was 1 of 21 on the power play. “You don’t like the hole we’ve dug ourselves. That’s a big reason we’re here, but we liked the fight of our team.
“Difficult circumstances.”
Hampus Lindholm scored in regulation and added an assist on the winner for the Bruins, who avoided becoming the first club in NHL history to blow a 3–1 series lead in a row after losing to the Florida Panthers in the final stretch. The season after spring.
Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves. Boston will face the well-rested Panthers in the second round in South Florida starting on Monday.
“Huge moment,” said Pastrnak, who scored his fourth goal of the playoffs after being called upon by head coach Jim Montgomery after Game 6.
“Even a little relief…couldn’t be more proud of myself.”
William Nylander, who missed the first three games due to migraine headaches that blurred his vision, answered for the Leafs. Toronto battled back in Game 7 with two consecutive wins minus ailing star sniper Auston Matthews.
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“It sucks,” Nylander said. “Empty feeling.”
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Ilya Samsonov stopped 29 shots after Josef Woll, who excelled in Games 5 and 6 to help his team get back into the series, suffered an injury late in the third period of Thursday’s win, which cut the original six matchup to seven. Reached till.
Matthews was removed from the lineup in Game 4 due to illness and then missed the final two contests with Toronto before returning to action at less than 100 percent on Saturday.
Pastrnak won the series after Lindholm shot the puck over the end board. The winger won a race and then threw Samsonov on the ice and sent the Leafs home.
“We were right there,” Matthews said. “It didn’t go our way.”
Nylander took a pass from Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals in the regular season, to give Toronto a 1–0 lead with 10:59 remaining in regulation.
But Lindholm equalized with 1:21 to go on a shot shortside after some intense pressure around Toronto’s crease and set up a TD Garden before the teams could make it to overtime.
“It’s hard to talk right now,” Samsonov said. “The season is over for us.”
Woll replaced the Russian to start the third period of Game 4 and gave up just two goals in more than 140 minutes of action as Toronto, which now trails the series 3-1, is 1-17 all-time. , returned back. Even the Original Six matchups.
“It’s very difficult not to move forward,” Leafs captain John Tavares said. “Especially with the type of team we have, the type of character we have here, and the belief in the locker room.
“Very proud of the group.”
The Bruins were off to a much better start than Games 5 and 6 before Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson crushed Pastrnak with a clean hit.
Toronto’s best chance of the period came when Matthew Neese beat Jake DeBrusk for a 50/50 puck and found Nylander, who scored twice in Game 6, in the slot for a chance snatched away by Swayman.
Boston got its first power play of the evening in the second, but Mitch Marner had the best chance when the Bruins netminder gave away the puck.
The Leafs fell to 1 of 21 on a fruitless gain of their own before Toronto winger Connor Dewar’s short-handed breakaway.
Nese then got another break in the box when Kevin Shattenkirk deflected the puck off his stick and sent the Toronto rookie past Swayman.
Despite being without Matthews, Toronto battled back to earn a 2–1 win in Game 7, which also included an overtime road win in Game 5.
The Leafs, who won a postseason series for the first time in two decades last spring, were minus Nylander because of a migraine and potentially a concussion in those first three contests.
It took Sweden two games to find its footing before scoring two goals on Thursday, which helped tie the series and send the teams back to Boston.
“It’s hard to explain what it is,” Nylander said. “I lose my vision, I can’t really see with my eyes, it gets messed up. It’s hard to play.”
Despite the valiant effort, Toronto has now lost six consecutive Game 7s – including four straight to the Bruins (2013, 2018, 2019 and 2024).
There will be questions about the future of Marner as well as Keefe, who has one year left on his contract and can sign an extension on July 1 after his fourth starting round exit in five seasons.
The Leafs – as a whole – will now pick up the pieces and reflect as the franchise’s Cup drought now stretches to 57 years.
“The group came together to give us a chance,” Keefe said. “Love and appreciate that part of our group.
“It’s hard to lose, it’s a hard way to go.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2024.
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