They weren鈥檛 ready. Oh, the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs were there at the start of the biggest game of their mostly young lives. With a chance to bury Boston in a Game 6, they showed up with shovels.
But then things went sideways, and that鈥檚 what the Leafs weren鈥檛 ready for. So they lost by a score of 4-2 and they have to play another game, maybe just one more game. It鈥檚 Game 7 in Boston, again.
鈥淲e know how they play, they know how we play, so it鈥檚 important that we come ready,鈥 said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, who played a magnificent Game 6. 鈥淚t really just comes down to the commitment to doing it right. We鈥檝e been together a long time, and we know what鈥檚 going to make us win. It鈥檚 important that we get there and do it.鈥
It is, in that way that helps to define players and franchises. Game 7 in Boston is where Toronto鈥檚 most memorable moments of the last 15 years have been seared into memories, and turned into scars: 2013 was the Hindenburgian collapse; 2018 was a smaller one, but for a team with bigger hopes.
And after another summer, another training camp, another season with all its ups and downs, and after five playoff games, they had a chance to eliminate the team with the third-best record in hockey. But the Leafs faltered. 海角社区官网had a 1-0 lead and had started well when Boston scored on a first-period power play to tie the game, and then again six minutes later. No problem 鈥 45 minutes left, right?
But the Leafs reacted by spending most of an hour skating around like their skate blades had been coated in syrup. Decisions were a little slower, passes a little off, everything broke down, and the Bruins played with the scent of blood in their nostrils. Before the game, Boston forward Brad Marchand was asked how to play an elimination game without worrying about the consequences, and he was prescient.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a game of mistakes,鈥 said Marchand. 鈥淣ormally the team that wins is the team that can recover from those mistakes and finds ways to battle through it, but playoff hockey, you need everything to go your way to go the distance. You need the right calls, the right bounces, you need to be able to battle through those big moments. But it鈥檚 a game of mistakes, and you鈥檝e got to be able to rebound from them.鈥
Marchand now has seven goals in his last 13 playoff games against Toronto, and the Leafs fell behind 3-1 before a late, insufficient push. Asked if that was a part of a young team鈥檚 growth process, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said, 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 part of it, for sure, but we鈥檇 like to learn quick, obviously.
鈥淭he bottom line is we weren鈥檛 as good as we could have been for a stretch of 30 minutes there, for sure,鈥 said Babcock. 鈥淭hey skated way better than we did, and that doesn鈥檛 happen to us very often. From (the second power-play goal) until the end of the second period they were better than us.鈥
鈥淗alfway through the second period you look up, they鈥檝e got eight shots,鈥 said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
No Leaf seemed able to turn the momentum, to turn the game, and they weren鈥檛 ready for the biggest moment of the season, not quite. It was the first time since his suspension that you thought this team could really use Nazem Kadri, and not just because William Nylander鈥檚 line was buried up to its neck and left for the ants.
So now it鈥檚 Game 7, and everything this franchise has built up comes due. They鈥檙e nothing like the gang that was there in 2013. And this isn鈥檛 last season.
鈥淰ery different,鈥 said Leafs forward Connor Brown. 鈥淓xtremely. We鈥檙e a very confident group. We were saying it all last year, but now we really believe it to our core: we feel as if we鈥檙e a group that can go deep, and we feel we鈥檙e a group that wants to be on the ice in big moments and wants to play these big games. So we won鈥檛 be timid, we鈥檒l be excited, and we鈥檒l have fun.鈥
There, right there, is the closest thing to a mission statement for this team right now. Last year they said they could do something special; this year they know it. They know they can beat Boston if they don鈥檛 make mistakes, if they play with poise and speed and don鈥檛 get rattled, if they are their best selves. And the road, from there, can lead anywhere you want.
But you need to win. 海角社区官网has been the better team at five-on-five, and Boston has been better on special teams. Both goalies have been terrific, though Frederik Andersen has been the best. And in Game 6, the Bruins were better able to rise to the moment, and fight from behind. This is a series so tight you can鈥檛 predict a damned thing about Game 7, other than it鈥檚 Tuesday night in Boston.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 all small details,鈥 said Toronto鈥檚 Auston Matthews, who scored his fifth goal in four games. 鈥淣either team鈥檚 really making much mistakes, and when they do, that鈥檚 when you get opportunities and that鈥檚 when guys score.鈥
Well, last chance. The ice will probably be bad in Boston again 鈥 鈥渨e might as well play with a tennis ball, skate around and see who can bounce one in the net,鈥 said Marchand 鈥 and it will be defined by who makes the fewest mistakes, and who reacts best when they make them. Game 7, Boston, again.
鈥淲e know it鈥檚 possible,鈥 said Brown. 鈥淲e know we can win in their building. We feel if we go and execute our game plan, we feel good about ourselves. I think both teams have done a really good job of evolving their games and adjusting, so we know we both understand what we鈥檙e going to come with, and it鈥檚 down to one.鈥
Games like these define you. Toronto鈥檚 turn.
Correction - April 22, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version to update an incorrect photo caption that misidentified Tyler Ennis as Travis Dermott.
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