MAPLE LEAFS at BRUINS
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS, NESN
Best-of-7 series tied 3-3
BOSTON -- The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will try to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they meet in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Wednesday.
The winner will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Second Round beginning Saturday.
The Maple Leafs look to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1 for the second time in their history. Toronto is 1-14 all-time in series it trailed 3-1; its only win was in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings, which the Maple Leafs trailed 3-0. The Maple Leafs haven't advanced beyond the first round since 2004.
The Bruins are 18-2 all-time in series they led 3-1, including the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2013 against Toronto. That year, Boston became the first team in NHL history to come back from trailing by three goals in the third period to win a Game 7 (5-4 in overtime). The Bruins haven't won a playoff series since 2014.
Here are 5 keys for Game 7:
1. Edge in experience
The Bruins have 13 players on their roster with 61 games of Game 7 experience; the Maple Leafs have 11 players with 31 games.
Whether that will be to Boston's advantage remains to be seen.
"Hopefully we can rely on some of the experiences that we've had in the past and kind of share that with the group," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. "But that being said, at the end of the day it's a hockey game and we need to go out there and execute and be at our best."
2. Stay desperate
The Maple Leafs may be at a disadvantage when it comes to Game 7 expierence, but they've won their past two games when facing elimination, including Game 5 on the road. They have to keep using that desperation to their advantage.
"It's nothing, really. It's been the same for a few games earlier where we've been close to, I guess one game, from elimination," Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen said. "We've played with that kind of mentality for a bit now, and we should feel comfortable."
3. Heinen in, Wingels out
With the re-insertion of Danton Heinen into the Bruins lineup in place of Tommy Wingels after Heinen was a healthy scratch for Game 6, Boston has reverted to the forward lines they envisioned they'd have when the playoffs began.
The lineup includes Heinen playing left wing with center Riley Nash and right wing David Backes.
"That line played really well for us [during the season]. We're trusting them to do that again tonight," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.
4. Paying special attention
The Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power play in Game 6 and are 1-for-9 in the past four games.
"I think the other night, our power play just didn't execute well enough as we did earlier on," Cassidy said. "That's the big issue right now, we've got to execute better."
5. Solving Andersen
The Maple Leafs goaltender has made 74 saves on 78 shots (.949 save percentage) the past two games, but got help with 45 blocked shots.
"I think they've defended harder than they did earlier in the series," Cassidy said. "When that happens, I think you do have to get more in the goaltender's face, legally."
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Connor Brown
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Mitchell Marner
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Kasperi Kapanen
Andreas Johnsson -- Tomas Plekanec -- William Nylander
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Leo Komarov, Connor Carrick, Matt Martin, Dominic Moore, Josh Leivo
Injured: None
Bruins projected lineup
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- Rick Nash
Danton Heinen -- Riley Nash -- David Backes
Tim Schaller -- Sean Kuraly -- Noel Acciari
Scratched: Nick Holden, Ryan Donato, Brian Gionta, Tommy Wingels
Injured: None
Status report
This is the Bruins' League-record 26th Game 7; they are 13-12. The Maple Leafs are 12-10 in Game 7s. ... Komarov is healthy after missing the past four games with a lower-body injury. He and Johnsson rotated as fourth-line left wings during line drills Wednesday. ... Kadri and Plekanec centered the above lines during the Maple Leafs morning skate but the past two games they switched lines at the outset. ... Babcock would not confirm anything about his lineup.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html
No comments:
Post a Comment