Maple Leafs prep for Game 7 test with Auston Matthews iffy

Toronto has willed its approach again into the first-round Stanley Cup playoff sequence towards Boston with consecutive elimination-game wins to drive a decisive Sport 7 in Boston on Saturday.

However the Leafs’ path from trailing the Bruins 3-1 right into a do-or-die, winner-take-all outing may need been the straightforward half. What comes subsequent — truly closing out Boston and advancing to the second spherical for less than the second time since 2004 — can be a wholly totally different battle.

“All we have achieved is dig ourselves out of a gap that we created,” Sheldon Keefe mentioned on Friday. “We’ve not achieved practically sufficient of what we got down to do. Now the true check comes, and the true alternative.”

What’s much less clear is whether or not Toronto’s finest participant can be again within the lineup for Sport 7. Auston Matthews has been sidelined by what the Leafs deemed a “lingering” sickness since being pulled from the third interval of Sport 4. He is been skating with Toronto’s assistant coaches since then, however Matthews was dominated out for each Video games 5 and 6. There gave the impression to be hope that Matthews would possibly return for Sport 7.

“There’s been progress,” Keefe mentioned Friday. “He skated once more right here at present, however no willpower on his availability.”

Toronto has needed to shuffle its forwards all through the sequence already to accommodate William Nylander lacking Video games 1, 2 and three with an undisclosed damage. It was Nylander who powered the Leafs to a 2-1 victory in Sport 6 Thursday by scoring each objectives.

Keefe famous how the Leafs have not confronted an opponent that is determined to maintain their very own season alive. When he mirrored on Toronto’s scenario Thursday, Keefe mentioned it felt just like the Leafs had simply performed two Sport 7s to succeed in the true factor. And once they truly do, for as soon as, the Bruins would don’t have any excuse to not match Toronto’s stage of urgency.

Boston coach Jim Montgomery has been vocal along with his frustration over how the Bruins got here out in Sport 5 and Sport 6, being outshot by a mixed 23-3 in these first intervals. The Bruins’ prime skaters have additionally been quiet, prompting Montgomery to publicly name out star winger David Pastrnak after Sport 6 for needing to “step up.”

There’s stress — and painful historical past — for each groups getting into Sport 7. Toronto is 1-4 towards Boston in sequence which have gone seven video games, together with back-to-back first-round defeats in 2018 and 2019. In the meantime, the Bruins would reside in infamy with a loss on Saturday as the one NHL, MLB or NBA crew in historical past to blow consecutive 3-1 sequence leads within the playoffs (Boston was up by that margin over Florida within the first-round final yr earlier than ultimately being jettisoned in Sport 7).

Whereas Montgomery can acknowledge the problems Boston has handled, he is adamant the Bruins are taking steps to deal with these issues.

“We’re performing some issues already to alter what we hope [will create] a special begin,” Montgomery mentioned. “I am an opportunistic, optimistic individual. Although I am mad and annoyed at occasions, I search for methods to get higher and to come back out of it. How are we going to get higher?”

That is precisely the query he is put towards Pastrnak and the remainder of Boston’s premier gamers. Pastrnak has generated two objectives and 4 factors within the sequence however was lacking from the scoresheet in Video games 5 and 6. Brad Marchand has additionally did not be the difference-maker he was earlier within the sequence — producing three objectives and eight factors — when Boston had an opportunity to ship Toronto packing.

Montgomery mentioned the message he relayed postgame Thursday about Pastrnak is identical one he dropped at the Bruins’ room.

“I talked to [Pastrnak] proper after the sport about it,” Montgomery mentioned. “I talked to him about it in the course of the recreation. Pasta and I’ve a very wholesome, communicative relationship, and he is able to go.”

Toronto’s energy play has not been able to go. It is 1-for-20 within the playoffs.

Keefe made mild of how ineffective the person benefit has been whereas declaring it nonetheless had time to make a comeback, too.

“We’re not going to say no the ability play, no,” Keefe mentioned jokingly. “We have modified issues quite a bit. It is a mixture of giving the fellows a very good recipe and a very good plan and making changes, but in addition displaying belief and confidence and religion and perception. As you have seen in our 5-on-5 recreation and our penalty kill the final two video games. You see the arrogance that comes by means of perception. The ability play does not have that proper now. No higher time for it to occur than Sport 7. You speak about moments — the ability play can come by means of for us at a second like this, you possibly can rapidly overlook something that is occurred beforehand.”

What the Leafs don’t need is to lose their edge — extra particularly, the tenacity that is put the Bruins on the ropes with one final bout in Boston.

“We nonetheless have work to do,” Morgan Rielly mentioned. “Not a lot modifications to our method or our mindset. We’re ready the place, if we win, we’re alive; if we lose, we’re lifeless. That is the place we have been the final two video games and I feel we have carried out properly beneath these circumstances.”