Although the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping for a much different conclusion to their first round matchup against the Boston Bruins, there are parallels between this series and the previous matchup in 2013 that they would not mind being repeated.
The Leafs and Bruins face each other in Game 6 on Monday, with Boston having a chance to move on to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round with a victory. A win for Toronto would force Game 7 at TD Garden on Wednesday.
The names have changed, there is no Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel and James Reimer on the Leafs side and no Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk on the Bruins, but it is almost a footnote of history in the wake of the epic collapse in the final 11 minutes of Game 7 that Toronto rallied from being down three games to one with a pair of one goal victories and Reimer playing otherworldly to force a deciding game.
“You know what, I don’t really remember (Game 5) too much, there’s one thing I remember is (Game 7).” defenseman Jake Gardiner the elimination games in 2013.
The formula for Leafs victories have been eerily similar to five years ago. Reimer nearly single-handedly held off Boston in the third period of a 2-1 win in Game 5 just as Frederik Andersen did with 19 stops in the third period on Saturday.
In Game 6, the two squads played it close to the vest until the third period when Toronto broke through with goals from Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel (their captain and leading scorer) and held on for a 2-1 win.
The Leafs will need the same from their top performers in Game 6 to extend the series to a deciding game. Auston Matthews was more involved than at any time in the series on Saturday and Toronto having the last change may help the 20-year-old create more scoring chances, as his setup on Connor Brown’s opening goal came while Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy were on the bench.
“The big players have to come and play (in elimination games).”Mitch Marner said after the club’s morning skate at Air Canada Centre. “(Boston) is trying to put us out, we’re trying to make it go longer. They are going to bring their best and we have to bring our best.”
Babcock indicated on Sunday that he would tinker with the line combinations for Game 6 and at the morning skate, Nazem Kadri skated between Patrick Marleau and Marner, with Tomas Plekanec moving to the fourth line between Andreas Johnsson and William Nylander.
Toronto has played their best hockey with their backs against the wall this postseason, with their offense breaking through with four goals in their two wins and Andersen stoning Boston with 37 third-period saves to preserve the victories. It is likely that they will need more of that to have a chance to exorcise the demons of May 13, 2013.
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