David Pastrnak stepped up.
His purpose 1:54 into extra time on Saturday night time at TD Backyard gave the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win in Recreation 7 of their Jap Convention first-round playoff collection in opposition to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins advance to play the Florida Panthers within the second spherical. That collection begins on Monday night time in Dawn, Fla.
Boston head coach Jim Montgomery mentioned earlier than the sport that the workforce wanted extra from Pastrnak, who scored 47 targets through the common season. Pastrnak responded by grabbing a carom off the again boards and backhanding a shot previous Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov.
Defenseman Hampus Lindholm shot the puck into the Toronto zone to create the carom that Pastrnak become the winner. It was additionally Lindholm who tied the sport 1-1 for the Bruins with 9:38 left, and simply 1:21 after William Nylander gave Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves for Boston.
The Bruins averted changing into the primary workforce in NHL, NBA and MLB historical past to blow 3-1 collection leads in consecutive seasons.
The Maple Leafs, nonetheless, reached a brand new stage of infamy. They’ve now misplaced seven consecutive winner-take-all video games — a streak that dates again to 2004.
Auston Matthews returned for Toronto after lacking Recreation 5 and Recreation 6 as a result of an sickness and an undisclosed harm. Matthews led the NHL with 69 targets through the common season and assisted on Nylander’s purpose.
Samsonov, who stopped 29 photographs, was compelled into returning to the Maple Leafs crease due to an harm suffered by Joseph Woll late in Recreation 6. Woll was spectacular in Video games 5 and 6, permitting a purpose in every sport because the Maple Leafs pulled even within the collection.
