Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) sets up to score on Toronto Maple Leafs' Ilya Samsonov (35) in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston.The Associated Press
The Maple Leafs flirted with destiny on Saturday but came up a little short.
David Pastrnak scored 1 minute 54 seconds into sudden-death overtime series to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series at TD Garden.
It is the fourth time that Toronto was eliminated from the opening round by Boston. The Maple Leafs have not beaten the Bruins in the post-season since 1959.
They clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series at three wins a piece. Each of those games were tight 2-1 battles, too.
Boston advances to the second round against the Florida Panthers beginning on Monday. The Maple Leafs go home for the summer too early again. They have reached the playoffs eight years in a row but have only won one round.
The curious thing is that they played their best three consecutive games all year at the end of this series that will go down as a classic. Perhaps not remembered so favourably by Torontonians. The Bruins avoided setting an NHL record that they didn’t want. They were on the verge of becoming the first team in history to lose a series after holding a 3-1 lead in consecutive years.
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The Maple Leafs improbably pushed this one to the full seven games despite William Nylander missing three games and Auston Matthews two. Matthews returned to the lineup on Saturday – just as goalie Joseph Woll came down with an injury.
Woll had started each of the two previous games and had stopped 59 of 61 shots. Without the rookie that backstopped them in Games 5 and 6 they would likely not have still been alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Woll allowed the Bruins only two goals in more than 140 minutes since he came on in relief of Ilya Samsonov in Game 4. But there was Samsonov, who lost three of the first four contests in the series, as the surprise starter in Toronto’s net.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins shake hands after the Bruins defeated the Leafs in overtime.Bob DeChiara/Reuters
This one can’t be blamed on Samsonov, however. In a terrific effort he turned away 29 of 31 shots. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman was just a tad better. He denied 30 of 31 in the triumph.
TD Garden was deafening and the crowd was hostile to visitors. It booed Matthews relentlessly, and on occasion chanted “Leafs duck” – or something naughty that sounds very close to that. There were Toronto followers in their midst dressed in their favourite player’s jersey and some wore giant foam pucks on their head.
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It is possible that this could be Sheldon Keefe’s last game as the Maple Leafs coach. Despite having great success in the regular season only one of his teams won a playoff round.
In the previous two contests his players seemed to suddenly understand that defence and goaltending are more important in the playoffs than a wide-open offensive attack. In truth, the Maple Leafs have tried the latter for years now with minimal success and should have learned faster.
Each of the two most recent games were 2-1 wins by the Maple Leafs. And this was another thrilling tight one as well. The teams went scoreless through two heart-stopping periods.
Toronto finally broke through and went ahead 1-0 on a goal by William Nylander with 10:59 to go in the third. Nylander had scored both goals in the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 victory in Game 6 on Thursday.
Boston countered with a goal of its own by Hampus Lindholm 1 minute 21 seconds later. Regulation time ended with it 1-1.
Then the Bruins struck early in sudden death and Toronto’s season crashed to an end.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) skates off the ice after the Boston Bruins won in overtime.Bob DeChiara/Reuters
Matthews returned to the lineup after missing two games with an illness and an undisclosed injury. He was the NHL’s leading goal-scorer with 69 goals and led Toronto with 107 points during the regular season.
The Maple Leafs managed to extend their series without him but could not drag themselves out of that 3-1 hole.
Leafs’ Auston Matthews named finalist for Lady Byng Trophy
Earlier on Saturday, Matthews was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy which is awarded each year to the player judged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct during the regular season. The other finalists are Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Jaccob Slavin.
This was the fourth consecutive series between the Maple Leafs and Bruins to go seven games, a first in NHL history. Toronto had come back from a 3-1 deficit only once – in 1942 when the club trailed 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup final.
Keefe expected a similar effort from his players in Game 7 that he received in Games 5 and 6.
“These guys came into Game 5 with confidence and belief and that remains,” Keefe said following the morning skate. “I think the group is ready to go.”
“I am proud of the team for the work that’s been done and how resilient they have been to get here. I reminded them that we have done it twice in elimination games already. They should be confident.”
They played that way but couldn’t finish the Bruins off.
After a fast start in the first four games, Boston discovered the Maple Leafs have a backbone that has not been apparent for a while.
Patrick Maroon, a Bruins forward, has won Stanley Cups with two different teams. He joined Boston in a trade in March. The Bruins last won a Stanley Cup in 2011 and lost in the first round in each of the last two years.
“We have to give credit to the Maple Leafs,” Maroon said earlier in the day. “They have fought back and battled hard and have done a good job. But this is a great opportunity for us. It is all about urgency tonight. Screw the other stuff.”
Toronto has walked a tightrope for three games. They finally fell off.
“This is desperation time,” Mitch Marner, the Toronto winger, said. “You know what’s on the line. You don’t want to go home early.”
They are going home early nonetheless.