Game 7 takeaways: Bruins beat Leafs, will face Panthers in second round

Game 7 takeaways: Bruins beat Leafs, will face Panthers in second round originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON – The Bruins have punched their way to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in three years.

The B’s eliminated the rival Toronto Maple Leafs with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 7 of their first-round series Saturday night at TD Garden. David Pastrnak was the hero in extra time with a goal just 114 seconds into the extra period. The Bruins went on a 3-1 run at one point, but just like in 2013 and 2018, they finished the job with a Game 7 victory over the Leafs.

Boston has defeated its Original Six rivals in the first round four times (2013, 2018, 2019, 2024) this century. The Bruins also have set an NHL record with 16 Game 7 wins of all time, surpassing the Montreal Canadiens. The Leafs have also lost six straight Game 7s.

Waiting for the Bruins in the second round are the Florida Panthers, who defeated the B’s in the first round of the 2023 playoffs while overcoming a 3–1 series deficit, including overtime victories in Games 5 and 7 in Boston. The Bruins won all four games during the 2023-24 regular season.

Before we look ahead to the second round, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Leafs Game 7.

David Pastrnak shows up when B’s needed him most

Pastrnak had a pretty quiet few games before Saturday night’s must-win clash. He had zero points in Games 5 and 6 while only taking eight shots in those two games combined.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery actually yelled Pastrnak after Game 6. He said the superstar forward “needs to step up” in Game 7.

Pastrnak accepted the challenge and delivered in extra time. He picked up speed in the neutral zone, Hampus Lindholm recognized this and played the puck perfectly off the boards to give the Bruins right winger a 1-on-1 with Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov.

Pastrnak scored on a foul deke to give the Bruins a series win.

Pastrnak finished the series with five points (three goals, two assists) in seven games. He has now scored in four of his six career Game 7s, including each of the last three. The narrative that he doesn’t appear in important playoff games is lazy and simply inaccurate. For his career, Pastrnak has 84 points (38 goals, 46 assists) in 84 postseason games.

Bruins show great resilience

There was a ton of pressure about the Bruins in this game. They could have been the first team in NHL, MLB or NBA playoff history to squander a 3-1 series lead in consecutive seasons. They have also lost three straight Game 7s and six straight shutout games. They were also on home ice.

Even after the Leafs opened the scoring at 9:01 of the third period, the Bruins didn’t panic. They attacked the Toronto zone and finally broke through when Hampus Lindholm beat Ilya Samsonov high up with a perfect shot. It was Lindholm’s first goal in 18 career playoff games with the B’s.

The Bruins hadn’t won a playoff game in overtime since Game 3 of the second round in 2021. They had lost three straight games.

But the Bruins withstood the adversity and pulled off a big win that extended their season (and perhaps saved their coach’s job). The second round matchup against the Panthers will be very difficult, but the Bruins are well prepared after coming out of this tough first round series alive.

The Bruins started Swayman for the sixth time in this series.

He wasn’t tested as much early as he was in the last two games, but he still needed to make some good saves, including this stop on William Nylander that resulted from a turnover in the frontcourt. It was one of Swayman’s eight saves in the first period.

Swayman kept the Bruins in the game as their offense struggled to score. He finished with 30 saves on 31 shots (.968 save percentage). One of his best saves came in the third period, right after the Leafs scored first. If Swayman doesn’t make that stop on Joel Edmundson, Toronto goes up 2-0 and likely wins in regulation.

Swayman posted an impressive .950 save percentage in six games against the Leafs, and allowed just two or fewer goals in all of them. You could argue that Swayman was the best goaltender in the entire first round playoffs. He was easily the Bruins’ most valuable and outstanding player in the series.