The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime, and both teams added to the history of Game 7 of the NHL Playoffs.
The Bruins' victory marks the first time since 2018 that the top three teams based on conference standings will each meet in the second round. That year, the top three clubs from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference met in the Round of 8.
The Bruins have won each of the past seven playoff series against the Maple Leafs since the 1969 quarterfinals (Bruins 4-0). They are one of three teams to win seven straight playoff series against one franchise. The others are Montreal Canadiens vs. Bruins (18 games from 1946 to 1987) and Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals (7 games from 1995 to 2017).
Of all the statistics surrounding Game 7, perhaps the most important for the teams was tonight's game as both teams looked to end their Game 7 losing streaks. Boston is 0-3 for his first since Stanley in 2019. In the cup final (0-2 at home), Toronto is 0-5 (0-3 on the road, both in Boston) for the first time since the 2013 conference quarterfinals.
Even before the puck dropped, both teams engaged in Game 7 for the 195th time in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. They are also the first franchise in NHL history to be required to play a Game 7 in at least four consecutive head-to-head playoff series. The only teams to finish at least three consecutive tournaments are the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames (1989 DSF, 1994 CQF, 2004 CQF) and the Capitals and New York Rangers (2012 CSF, 2013 CQF, 2015 R2). Only.
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The Bruins and Maple Leafs have already played more Game 7s than any other franchise, making this the 31st and 27th in history, respectively. Both clubs rank in the top four all-time in Game 7 wins: Montreal (15-9 in 24 GPs), Boston (15-15 in 30 GPs), Detroit (14-11 in 25 GPs) and Toronto ( 12 losses in 12 GPs) 14th place in 26 GPs).
Game 7 Milestones
The Maple Leafs and Bruins held Game 7 scoreless through two periods for the 11th time in Stanley Cup Playoff history. This is a trend since the final game (NSH at VAN, Game 5) was held on Tuesday, where the score was tied or within one goal in 94% of the playing time (338 minutes 54 seconds out of 360 minutes 00 seconds) of the six games. It is continuing. . Only three teams held the lead by multiple goals during this period, with a total time of 21:06 (EDM: 18:35, TOR: 2:12 & VGK: 0:19).
When William Nylander scored the first goal, it should have boded well for the Maple Leafs. The team that scored the most points in Game 7 in history has an all-time record of 147 wins and 47 losses (.758), including four runs scored. 0 mark in 2023.
Nylander scored his second career goal in Game 7 (also 2021 R1). Only four Maple Leafs players have a better record: Wendell Clark (6), Alexander Mogilny (4), Dave Keown (4), and Doug Gilmore (3). He became the 15th Maple Leafs player to score 20 total goals in the playoffs. The only other active player on that list is Auston Matthews, 23.
If the game goes into overtime, it would be the third consecutive year that Game 7 of the opening round required overtime, and the second longest in the past 20 years, after the four-year period from 2011 to 2014. .
David Pastrnak scored with 1:54 left in overtime, establishing the third-fastest Game 7 overtime goal in NHL history. The only teams to score faster were Calgary (1:25) in the 2004 conference quarterfinals and Boston (1:52) in his 1983 division finals.
