BOSTON– Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery wanted to do something different with his team heading into their Game 7 first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins faced the prospect of blowing back-to-back 3-1 leads in the first round and a sense of impending doom hung over the team.
Montgomery hoped a little change of scenery might solve the problem. So instead of sleeping alone before Saturday night’s winner-take-all game, they checked into a hotel and took the bus to TD Garden.
“The idea was, we’re 2-5 at home the last two years in the playoffs, and what’s going to allow us to cut through the noise?” Montgomery said.
He recalled a visit he made to the New England Patriots’ spring minicamp last year. There he spoke with former coach Bill Belichick about the importance of limiting distractions.
“It’s something that stayed with me. And it’s something I’ve been preaching as the playoffs approach,” he said.
This may have saved Boston’s season.
The Bruins overcame a deficit to tie it in regulation, then David Pastrnak scored 1:54 into overtime and the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 2-1.
It was the kind of total team performance that Montgomery has craved since taking a 3-1 lead over Toronto.
It was also a night of crisis for Pastrnak, who had a team-high four shots on goal after recording just two goals and two assists in six games. His puck handling was instrumental in boosting Boston’s offense in the third period and overtime.
“A little bit of relief too,” Pastrnak said. “Obviously, the happiness of the group and staying together throughout the series was unbelievable and we couldn’t be more proud of ourselves.”
Boston advances to the next round with goaltender Jeremy Swayman playing at nearly his highest level of the season. Since Montgomery stopped alternating Linus Ullmark and Swayman in Game 3, Swayman has not allowed more than two goals in a game.
“He was our best player in the series and it’s not even close,” Montgomery said.
This helped them narrowly avoid becoming the first NHL, NBA or Major League Baseball team to lose consecutive best-of-seven series after holding a 3–1 lead.
Montgomery said it’s an experience he believes will help them move forward.
“I think we’re a better team because of what we just went through. Now they know what it takes to move forward,” he said. “The first round is the wild west. It usually is. This year it seems like there are only two Game 7s. But there are usually six.”
And next is another shot at redemption against a Florida Panthers team that came back from 3-1 down in the first round last year to send home a Bruins team that set league records in regular-season wins and points.
“This is playoff hockey,” Montgomery said. “Last year had no bearing on how this would play out. We knew that. It’s a storyline and that’s part of what comes with the playoffs. It will happen. But at the end of the day, we did a great job keeping the momentum, believing in our group. And we came out on top.”
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