Bruins drop Game 6 to Maple Leafs, forcing a Game 7
The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will play a Game 7.
Toronto got two goals from William Nylander in Thursday night’s Game 6, taking the victory by a 2-1 final at Scotiabank Arena. After the Bruins built a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series, the teams are now tied 3-3, with Game 7 coming on Saturday at TD Garden, with the start time to be determined.
The Bruins played a more patient game in the first period than they did in Game 5, but it didn’t lead to better results. In fact, it was arguably worse, as the Maple Leafs out-shot them 12-1, including 11-0 at 5-on-5.
Boston’s biggest problem was a lack of transition through the neutral zone and almost no forecheck. Bruins goaltender Swayman was fortunately sharp for another period, keeping the game scoreless despite the disparity in shots.
The Bruins’ offensive anemia continued well into the second period, but they did impressively kill off a double-minor penalty after David Pastrnak high-sticked Tyler Bertuzzi. The B’s allowed only two Toronto shots during the 4-minute PK.
Boston appeared to gain momentum after the kill, out-shooting the Leafs 12-4 for the rest of the period. But it was Toronto that finally broke the scoreless tie, and with only 55 seconds left in the period, as William Nylander scored his first of the series with a shot that deflected off Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
The goal sparked additional ire from Bruins fans, because immediately preceding it was an egregious non-call by referee Chris Rooney after Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg blatantly boarded Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei.
The Bruins couldn’t quite find the back of the net in the third period, but had their chances, including this mind-boggling sequence:
Toronto effectively put the game away with Nylander’s second goal of the game, with 2:13 remaining in regulation. Linemate Matthew Knies made a great heads-up play to swivel the puck around to a streaking Nylander, who finished his breakaway to make it 2-0.
The Bruins managed to finally get the puck past Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll with 0.1 seconds left, off the stick of Morgan Geekie, adding a meaningless score to spoil a shutout. Game 7 was already inevitable.
Toronto will have an opportunity to make the Bruins blow a 3-1 series lead for the second straight season, and defeat them in a playoff series for the first time since 1959.
Get complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com. Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.
