Most of the Toronto Maple Leafs got their first Stanley Cup Playoff experience in a tightly contested six-game series against Washington last season, but on Wednesday they will get their first taste of a deciding Game 7 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
The Leafs pulled out a 3-1 victory in Game 6 at Air Canada Centre on Monday, with Frederik Andersen and Mitch Marner stepping up in a game with the season on the line.
Andersen came up big when his team needed him to, as he did in their wins in Game 3 and 5, making 17 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless and weathering a second period with the Bruins hemming Toronto in their own zone and applying constant pressure.
Marner, along with linemates Patrick Marleau and Tomas Plekanec went head-to-head against the Patrice Bergeron line and kept the Bruins top line off the scoreboard, while also scoring the game-winning goal in the second period and adding an assist on Plekanec’s empty netter late in regulation.
“(Mitch has) learned how to win, he's learned how to be F3, he's learned how to track a puck, he's learned how to compete.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “He has all those things, plus his skillset. What he's done at playoff time is put his work ahead of his skill and he is having success.”
Toronto have been successful in evening the series and forced Game 7, but by no means have they dominated the Bruins or put together a complete 60-minute effort in any game, which might be necessary to win a deciding game on the road.
With the series and season on the line, Babcock emphasized prior to the team leaving for Boston that the key to Game 7s is to not be consumed by the pressure, but to embrace being in them and to have fun.
“You want to come out loose and driving, ready to jump, execute early and get on top of the other team. Our opportunity here is we've crawled our way back to be in this series with Boston who I think is a real good team in the League.” Babcock said. “I think we're a real good team in the League. In a best-of-one, I don't think you could be in a better situation and it's going to be a lot of fun.”
While key players on the roster will be experiencing a deciding game for the first time, the Leafs are not totally bereft of Game 7 experience. Patrick Marleau has played in many over his lengthy career, Ron Hainsey and Roman Polak did with Pittsburgh and San Jose.
Plekanec, Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner, James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov all have played a deciding game in TD Garden and Andersen played in a Western Conference Final and first round Game 7 with Anaheim.
Komarov skated and took part in drills on Monday morning and took the pre-game skate on Monday. Babcock indicated that the veteran winger is healthy enough to go on Wednesday, but he has not played since Game 2.
If the Leafs insert Komarov in the lineup, it will likely be in favor of either rookie Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson, but Babcock will not make that decision until Wednesday morning.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»