There is finally a Game 6 in the Eastern Conference as the Toronto Maple Leafs have extended their series against the Boston Bruins.
Scotiabank Arena in Toronto will be the venue. The opening face-off is at 8:00 pm on Thursday, and both teams are entering Game 6 with the past rearing its ugly head.
For Boston, this scenario is way too familiar. After winning the President’s Trophy last year, they opened their playoff run with a 3-1 lead on the Panthers. Game 5 went to overtime, they lost, and the Panthers went on a deep run themselves.
The Bruins haven’t made it past the first round since the 2020-21 season.
For the Maple Leafs, Saturday night marked the sixth straight home playoff loss, and they’ve won one playoff round in the previous seven attempts.
Change in Net Keeps the Hope Alive for the Maple Leafs
With Auston Matthews out of the lineup, and coming off their worst playoff performance in recent memory, the Maple Leafs went to Boston in full-on survival mode.
They made a couple of personnel changes, the biggest one being rookie goaltender Joseph Woll starting over Ilya Samsonov. The 3-1 series deficit was by no means the goalie’s fault, but given Swayman’s stingy play, the Leafs needed a big save in big moments and he has been coming up short throughout the series.
Woll allowed a goal on only two shots in the opening period, but after that, he was brilliant. Woll stopped the next 26 shots, including a huge save on Frederic in the third, and a bigger save on Coyle in the opening minute of overtime.
Another Rookie is the Game 5 Hero
A lot was being made of the rough Game 4 performance by the Maple Leafs. Losing a hard-fought game is one thing, but considering the playoff history Toronto has, a flat outing like that just isn’t acceptable.
Tuesday night was a different story.
Whatever Game 4 was, Game 5 was the complete opposite. The Maple Leafs jumped on the Bruins right from the start, and Goaltender Jeremy Swayman had to be great early.
In moments like this, you need an unsung hero apart from your stars. For Toronto, Matthew Knies was that hero. On two different occasions.
The first was in the middle of a scrum, where cameras caught him picking a fighting with David Pastrnak, trying to lure the superstar into a tussle. All series he’s been throwing around his body, trying to assert himself physically. Pastrnak wanted no part of it.
The second is the obvious one. With the overtime period less than three minutes old, Knies crashed the net hard, and put a Tavares’ rebound behind Swayman, sending the series back to Toronto.
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the Arizona native, and this moment was well deserved.
Lack of Urgency Concerning for the Bruins
The Bruins were in a great spot heading into Tuesday night. Aside from Matthews taking over Game 3, the Leafs have shot themselves in the foot time and time again. Every time they did, Boston was right there to take advantage of it.
In Game 5 it just didn’t look the same. Their passing was sporadic and at times, aimless. For a team that is disciplined and systematic in their approach, it just looked like they were scared to lose.
Captain Brad Marchand summed it up perfectly.
“We needed to be better than we were. They were prepared to play and start the game, and we weren’t”
One can’t help but wonder if last year’s result lingers in the back of their mind. Heading into Game 6, maybe those thoughts are creeping towards the front.
What to Expect in Game 6
Despite extending the series and playing their best game thus far, the same issues still plague the Maple Leafs.
They were 0/3 with the man advantage and scored less than three goals for the fourth time in the series. Even if they win on Thursday, this needs to be turned around in a hurry.
Auston Matthews has missed the last 4 periods of hockey and his availability in Game 6 is still in question.
Coaches in the playoffs refuse to give any information, even if it’s obvious. Just know that no matter what coach Sheldon Keefe says, Woll will get his second straight start.
If you’re the Boston Bruins, this is what you know. Swayman has stumped Toronto all series. Even on Tuesday, he stopped 31 of 33 shots. You also know that your system and tactical discipline have stifled what was a potent Maple Leaf offense all year. Lean on what you know.
David Pastrnak has been a non-factor through five games. Where Marchand leads the Bruins in assists and goals, Pastrnak only has two of each and has averaged 3 shots a game. It’s safe to assume he’d break through at some point, but so far, that has not been the case.
With or without Matthews, I expect the Leafs to redeem themselves from some home-ice demons, and even up this series. With every other Eastern Conference series wrapped up, let’s hope for some drama.
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