Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 15: Pastrnak’s OT winner ends tight Game 7 and sends Bruins to second round

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 15: Pastrnak’s OT winner ends tight Game 7 and sends Bruins to second round
Credit: © Bob DeChiara

It all comes down to days like this. Two teams facing elimination, one wins and moves on to the next round, the other goes home for the summer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Game 7 woes have been well documented, having not won one since 2004. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins have also had their recent issues. Not only were they on the precipice of being the first team to blow 3-1 series leads in back-to-back years, but they also had lost their last three Game 7’s, last accomplishing it when these two teams last squared off in 2019.

Both teams had their demons, and both teams wanted the win. Boston had home ice, and Toronto had Auston Matthews back in the lineup, although with Joseph Woll hurt late in Game 6, Ilya Samsonov was back in the crease.

The two teams decided to give us a taste of what we were familiar with, as much like both the past couple games in this series and in the playoffs in general, it was close and low-scoring. Through the first two periods, the Leafs and Bruins traded chances, with Toronto outshooting Boston 21-18, but Jeremy Swayman and Samsonov didn’t let anything by.

It wasn’t until midway through the third period when one of the teams finally broke through, and it was who else but William Nylander, who had the last three goals for the Leafs going back to Game 6. Tyler Bertuzzi generated the turnover to Matthews, who waited out Hampus Lindholm to set up Nylander for the goal.

But that lead didn’t last long. In just 81 seconds, Lindholm fired a shot through traffic that sneaked by Samsonov and the Bruins tied the game just like that.

Neither team could score again in the third, and once again we needed overtime to decide the result of a series between these two historic rivals. But, for better or worse, the result came quick. Just 1:54 into the extra period, Lindholm dumped the puck in, seeming to aim for a specific corner, and it got the bounce the Bruins needed, as David Pastrnak came flying in to bury it past Samsonov to win the game 2-1.

With that, the Bruins win the game and the series. Lindholm finished the night as the only player with multiple points with the game-tying goal and the primary assist on the game-winning goal, a bit of redemption after being the victim in the opening goal. Both goalies played excellent in the game, with Swayman finally getting his first Game 7 win in his third try with 30 saves on 31 shots, while Samsonov stopped 29 of 31 in what could be his last game as a Maple Leaf.

With the win, the Bruins advance to the second round for the first time since 2021, having lost in the first round in seven games in back-to-back seasons, and will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a rematch of last year’s first round series. Meanwhile, the Leafs fall short in the postseason yet again, failing to win their opening series for the seventh time during their eight-season playoff streak.

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