The Boston Bruins eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night in an incredible back-and-forth Game 7. While Boston moves on now to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, let’s take a look at a few things we learned from its series against the Leafs.
What a Game 7. This. Is. Why. We. Hockey.
On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins were able to fight back and eventually hold off the Toronto Maple Leafs en route to a 7-4 victory. They’ll fly off now to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. E.T.
I think I speak for anyone who loves hockey when I say that we can’t wait to see that contest. David Pastrnak against Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point facing Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. Tuukka Rask going shot for shot with Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to be fun.
It’s simply a shame this won’t be an Eastern Conference finals bout. But hey, before we head too far into the next round, there was a lot to take away from the Bruins’ and Leafs’ first-round series. Certainly, there was plenty we can’t mention here. For now, let’s head into the three things that really caught our attention.
What We Learned:
1: Pastrnak is going to keep the Bruins contending for a very long time.
A lot of air space was given to some other young stars before these playoffs began, and rightfully so; Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, Patrik Laine and Connor Hellebuyck for the Winnipeg Jets. Sean Couturier had a monster year over in Philadelphia and was dynamite in the Flyers’ series loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The list is long.
But so far, Pastrnak leads them all. It isn’t really close. His 13 points for the Bruins, including an eye-popping six point effort in Game 2, made him a household name across the NHL. What should be terrifying for the rest of the league is that this kid, who broke out with 80 points in the regular season, will be on the Marchand/Bergeron line for at least the next five years. Check out this article by FanSided’s Michelle Bruton for a deeper look at just how big of a bargain Boston is getting through 2023. Yikes. We love it.
2: Auston Matthews may not be as ready for primetime.
Matthews struggled mightily in his second postseason with Toronto. After scoring four goals and five points last year against the Washington Capitals, and after putting up another marvelous regular season this year (34 goals, 63 points), he only put up two points against the Bruins this time around.
Matthews, though, is only 20. He is a star that will continue to rise for Toronto. Some players unfortunately take a bit longer to acclimate themselves to postseason play. That isn’t what Maple Leafs fans want to hear right now, but it’s true. He flashed excellent potential in his rookie season. While he took a step back in these playoffs, we’re expecting he’ll turn the corner full-time in another campaign or two. So take heed, Toronto: He, like Pastrnak on the other side, is going to keep you contending for the next decade or more.
3: The goaltending in this series was, uh…not always good.
Overall, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask didn’t have his best effort against Toronto. In four of the seven games, he gave up at least three goals. In three of those same contests he gave up four. He had a few top-notch performances (Game 1, 4 and 6), but the Tampa Bay Lightning are coming and they bring the best offense in the NHL. For Boston to advance beyond round two, Rask will need to be great pretty much every time out. His defense will also need to avoid hanging him out to dry. His playoff resume bears out that he’ll get on track. Hopefully it’s soon.
Frederik Andersen for the Leafs was a conundrum. He was insanely good at times, and mind-numbingly bad too often. We detailed before this matchup began how important it would be for Toronto find at least average goaltending. It didn’t happen. He allowed six in Game 7, five in Game 1 and at least three goals in three other games to seal the fate of his club. Granted, Game 5 was a win, but it’s an area that this team needs to address if they want to grow and make noise next season.
Next: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs
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