It happened again. The Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs in game seven of their first-round series. This is the fourth time in the last 11 years that this has happened.
The Boston Bruins won each of the last three meetings. They have all been good games at TD Garden. This one didn’t end much differently than the others.
Of course, the status of Auston Matthews was in doubt going into the game. By the time morning skate was over, however, it was clear that he would play.
The shocker was that the Leafs had to go to Ilya Samsonov in place of Joseph Woll who was brilliant in games five and six. Some people feel like the Maple Leafs are cursed. This certainly didn't show an argument against the idea.
The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs played an incredible game 7
The two Original Six rivals went to the third period tied at 0. At 9:01 of the final regulation frame, Auston Matthews made an incredible play to feed William Nylander for a 1-0 lead. Sheldon Keefe put them together and it paid off.
Nylander missed the first three games of the series and Matthews missed 5 and 6. They only played on the same roster for the first two periods of game four until game seven.
It was a treat to see them play together on the same line. Tyler Bertuzzi was the third guy out there and he also collected an assist on the goal.
81 seconds later, the Bruins scored to tie it up at 1-1. Hampus Lindholm made the perfect shot to get his team right back in the game. That would be the last of the scoring.
In the first overtime period, the demons showed up for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hampus Lindholm sent a puck in deep and David Pastrnak read it perfectly. He collected it and made a great move to slide the puck around the leg of Samsonov.
Bruins' head coach Jim Montgomery told the media that Pastrnak needed to be better if they wanted to win. He claimed that he needed to make an impact. He listened.
Now the Bruins will move on to face the Florida Panthers in the second round. Yes, the same Florida team that eliminated them last year. The Bruins had the greatest regular season in the history of the NHL and Florida came back to beat them after being down 3-1 in the series.
As far as entertainment goes, this one is going to be near the top of the list. It should be a wonderful matchup of two elites in the Atlantic Division. For now, the Bruins should enjoy this spectacular overtime win in game seven.