fb-pixelIn a wild Game 7, Bruins decide they want to keep playing - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
BRUINS 7, MAPLE LEAFS 4

In a wild Game 7, Bruins decide they want to keep playing

Torey Krug’s goal tied it, 4-4, in the third period.JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

Sign up for Globe sports news alerts.

At risk of a summer spent repenting in leisure and regret, the Bruins eventually fired up hotter than an August day Wednesday night, erasing a 4-3 deficit early in the third period and barreling to a 7-4 knockout win in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs that lifted the Black and Gold into Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Rookie winger Jake DeBrusk, their latter-day Mark Recchi, provided the 4-4 tiebreaker with 5:25 gone in the third, muscling his way down the lane and knocking the winner by Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen as he fell to his knees, slid, and crashed heavily into the rear boards.

Advertisement



“When you’re down in the third period against a team like that, it’s tough to overcome,” said DeBrusk, who tucked his shoulder and absorbed a heavy hit from defenseman Jake Gardiner as he uncorked the winner, his second goal of the night. “But our character showed through.”

The victory, which also included goals from Danton Heinen, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand (empty net), lifted the Bruins into a series Lightning, which begins Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) in Tampa. Game 2 will be in Tampa Monday night, with Game 3-4 back in Boston on Wednesday and Friday.

The Leafs, who finished just below the Bruins in the Atlantic Division during the regular season, unraveled around a pair of four-on-four goals less than four minutes apart in the third. The Bruins took those few inches of extra ice and used them to send the Leafs, without a Stanley Cup since 1967, reeling down Causeway Street.

The Bruins bench, led by David Pastrnak (88), spill onto the TD Garden ice to celebrate Wednesday night’s clinching 7-4 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 7.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Krug connected first for the four-on-four equalizer at 1:10, drilling home a one-time slapper off a faceoff, and then DeBrusk provided the jawbreaker at 5:25. His club in need of a big moment, the 21-year-old freshman winger delivered it, fixing his eye toward the right post as he collected a David Krejci (three assists) feed and making tracks down the right side of the slot.

Advertisement



“That’s always the first thing, play inside, be willing to get hit,” said coach Bruce Cassidy, who captured his first playoff series win. “Fight for your space. That’s playoff hockey. They weren’t freebies. He’s been greasy, as advertised.”

The comparison to Recchi, who won the Cup with the Bruins in his final game as a pro, was not lost on Cassidy.

“I’m not sure his foot speed is equivalent,” kidded Cassidy, who recalled an aging Recchi didn’t blaze trails to the net. “That’s not disrespect to Mark, who’s a Hall of Famer. But yeah, getting inside position . . . and finding a hole. A goal scorer’s goal, right? Quick release. Fight for your ice. Lots of similarities. Would be nice if Jake had a career like Mark.

“Good for him. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but he’s had a real good year, and good playoff . . . but it was a big one for us. We needed it and the timing was excellent.”

The Bruins twice fell behind in the first period, but they were out front, 3-2, by the end of 20 minutes, with the capacity crowd of 17,565 shaking the house when Bergeron knocked in the go-ahead goal with just 37 seconds to go before the break.

The Leafs, winners of Games 5 and 6, jumped to the early lead on the first of two Patrick Marleau goals in the period at 2:05. Working the net front on the power play, Marleau tipped in his 71st postseason goal when Gardiner unloaded a slapper from the blue line on the power play.

Advertisement



But only 2:42 later, grinding away near the left post, DeBrusk notched a PPG of his own, putting the top-of-the-crease touch to a Pastrnak wrister from near the top of the right circle.

Marleau, the ex-San Jose icon, was back for his second of the night at 6:12, moments after he prevented a Krug clearing attempt from leaving the defensive zone. After the puck shuttled around, Marleau was set up with a Mitch Marner feed that he sniped to the top left corner on Tuukka Rask. Leafs, 2-1.

The Bruins again were quick to respond, with Heinen potting the equalizer at 9:10 after a Rick Nash feed eluded Krejci in the slot. The puck squibbed free and Heinen, back in the lineup after a night in the press box for Game 6, connected with a 20-foot wrister.

Finally, with 37 seconds to go prior to the intermission, Bergeron knocked in his first of the postseason after Kevan Miller made a perfect bank shot off the rear wall. With no shooting lane available, Miller uncorked his blast from above the right circle, intentionally firing 3-4 feet wide right of the net. The ricochet went directly to the left post, where Bergeron collected it on his backhand, flipped to his forehand, and then canned it before Andersen could cover the short side.

Advertisement



Patrice Bergeron celebrates his first-period goal — his first of the postseason — with teammates David Backes (42) and Brad Marchand (63). It came in a rollicking opening frame that saw the Bruins take a 3-2 lead.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

But the Leafs owned the second period, scoring the only two goals, setting themselves up with 4-3 lead to enter the final period of regulation.

Travis Dermott tied it, 3-3, only 2:07 into the period after seeing his first attempt high in the slot get blocked by Pastrnak. Dermott recovered the puck, found space, and snapped home his wrister from the top of the left circle.

The Bruins, set up on a power play, just missed tying it at 5:45 when Andersen blocked Krug’s point-blank wrister with an arm save. But moments later, high-energy Kasperi Kapanen won a footrace with Marchand and moved in all alone to jam a shorthander by Rask for the 4-3 lead.

“For entertainment value, that is probably one of the better Game 7s you’ll see,” said Rask, who finished with 20 stops, including all eight of Toronto’s attempts in the third. “Goals going both ways, kind of a nightmare for goalies, with all the scoring chances coming at you. But we stuck with it, and we have all year. A one-goal game into the third and we shut it down and scored some big goals.”

Rene Rancour pumped up the TD Garden crowd before Game 7 when he punctuated his rendition of the National Anthem with some exuberant fist pumps.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont
@globe.com
. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.