A tale as old as time. The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs entered a new chapter of playing a decisive Game 7. And much like the previous three series, the Bruins took that decisive game and got the luxury of advancing to the second round. This game came with enormous amounts of pressure for both teams.
The Bruins avoided making history, and not in a good way. They could’ve been the first team to blow a 3-1 series lead across all the major sports. Instead, they avoided a total collapse like last season and sent the Bruins faithful home happy. Now that the series is wrapped up, here are three reasons why the Bruins ultimately emerged victorious.
Jeremy Swayman
If anyone is to be relieved, it is Jeremy Swayman. He is the goalie who was in net for the last two Game 7 defeats (2021-22 against Carolina and 2022-23 against Florida). This was the perfect opportunity to rewrite the script and change the narrative. Swayman did just that and helped deliver a victory in the decisive game. Nobody knows what the dollar sign will look like on his next contract, but Swayman is going to get a hefty raise. He single-handedly kept the Bruins in Game 7 and was the team’s best player for the entire series.
Defensively both teams were brilliant in front of their respective netminders, as they limited anything of high quality towards the goal. The Bruins allowed seven high-danger shots on goal and the Maple Leafs five. At the end of the day, Swayman was the difference in this series and not just this game.
When you look at the other bench, that is an offense that can do damage and has no shortage of weapons. After all, they did have Auston Matthews, who scored 69 goals during the regular season. Furthermore, the Maple Leafs scored 298 goals during the regular season. They ran into a brick wall that was Swayman, as he never allowed more than two goals in every game he started.
Over the six games he started in the seven-game series, Swayman stopped 172 of 181 shots he faced, good for a .950 save percentage. In addition, he finished the playoff round with 7.58 goals saved above expected, showing how dialed in he was and smothering the Maple Leafs offense.
Swayman dominated against the Maple Leafs during the regular season and carried that same momentum into the series. He wasn’t alone, though, as the team got the most important goal from the most important player.
Special Teams Play Favored the Bruins
Entering the series, special teams were a huge factor. The Bruins finished the season with the seventh-best penalty kill unit (82.5% success rate), and the Maple Leafs had the seventh-best power play unit in the league (23.9% success rate). Not to mention, the Bruins power play was struggling to end the season, scoring one goal. If the Bruins were to make it out of the series, they’d have to keep themselves out of the penalty box.
Related: Slow Start Dooms Bruins in Pivotal Game 6
The Bruins won the special teams battle, as they had great success against the Maple Leafs in this series. In fact, the Maple Leafs scored one goal with the man advantage while having 22 opportunities. The Bruins finished the series with a 95% success rate on the penalty kill and also managed to kick their power play into high gear (40% success rate).
In a series that became tightly contested defensively towards the end, the Bruins established superior special teams play early and maintained it until the end.
The Best Player, Became the Best Player
After Game 6, head coach Jim Montgomery did not mince words and wasn’t shy about calling out his players. After being a point-per-game player for the first four games of the series, David Pastrnak was held in check and off the scoresheet for Games 5 and 6. On the other end, you saw the Maple Leafs’ best player, William Nylander, single-handedly win Game 6, and the Bruins needed to match that in Game 7. Pastrnak heard his coach’s words and used them to fuel him in the decisive game.
Pastrnak was one of the best players in this game for the Bruins. When on the ice at five-on-five, the Bruins held the edge in shot attempts (27-13), which is good for a Corsi for percentage of 67.50%. Furthermore, the Bruins held the edge in scoring chances and in the expected goals share. Safe to say, good things were happening when he was on the ice. Individually, he was active and did everything in his power to create offense, and in overtime, it paid off.
The biggest goal of the series came off his stick. Moments like this are precisely what the Bruins gave him that hefty contract for. A beautifully executed pass by Hampus Lindholm saw Pastrnak blaze through the offensive zone and beat every Maple Leafs defender to the puck. Even though Pastrnak went into silent mode, he broke through in one of the most important moments, and that’s all that mattered.
Brad Marchand was also one of the team’s best players, finishing with a series-high eight points and coming up big in key moments in the first four games of the series.
Bruins Prevail and Avoid Collapse
When you look at this series, you ultimately look at Swayman. He was the team’s best player and willed the Bruins to victory. It is not to say that Linus Ullmark was bad in his one start in Game 2, but that Swayman was the hotter hand and stifled the Maple Leafs offense.
Special teams can be a weapon in the playoffs, but for the Maple Leafs, it was not, and the Bruins’ winning that battle was a huge key to their success. At the end of the day, the best player was the ultimate difference and became the difference in winning the series. In a tightly contested series, that was a huge boost to carry momentum into the second round.