The Boston Bruins came out flying. The Toronto Maple Leafs did not.
On Tuesday night, the Bruins took down the Maple Leafs 5-1 in a riveting Game 7. The game was to be the third Game 7 the Bruins and Leafs had played against each other in the past six year.
The Bruins won in 2013. The Bruins won in 2018.
And then the Bruins won in 2019.
With 14 minutes gone in the first, the fourth line finally found their game. Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari and Joakim Nordstrom, with help from Matt Grzelcyk, created a forecheck coaches would kill for. It ended in a Nordstrom goal, which was a soft one for Frederik Andersen to give up.
--GOAL--Nordstrom!!!!#NHLBruins- 1#LeafsForever- 0 pic.twitter.com/c9XXT1XWGI
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS)
April 23, 2019 Just a few minutes later, Jake Gardiner channeled his past TD Garden performances and left a drop pass behind his own net for....Marcus Johansson. The acquisition brought it out front and ripped it past Andersen to make it 2-0.
--GOAL--Nordstrom!!!!#NHLBruins- 1#LeafsForever- 0 pic.twitter.com/c9XXT1XWGI
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS)
April 23, 2019 To open the second period, the Leafs came out with rockets on their skates and it paid off when John Moore failed to get the puck out of his zone and John Tavares capitalized with a wrist shot past Tuukka Rask.
John Moore coughs up the puck and John Tavares makes the Bruins pay. 2-1 pic.twitter.com/WPs0sWALBN
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn)
April 24, 2019 Though the Bruins came into the third up 2-1, they didn't have the momentum. The Maple Leafs applied lots of pressure to the Bruins in the second and had them on their heels.
That all changed because of the Bruins fourth line striking...again.
Splitting through defenders like Randy Moss, Kuraly skated past Ron Hainsey and challenged Morgan Rielly. With a little move to his left, Kuraly ripped one top corner over Andersen to make it 3-1.
--GOAL--Sean Kuraly has been clutch all season and he just took the roof of TD Garden #NHLBruins- 3#LeafsForever-1 pic.twitter.com/CBHQV3pBfw
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS)
April 24, 2019 Then with two and a half minutes remaining, Charlie Coyle put the cherry on top with the empty-netter.
Patrice Bergeron added one at the horn.
The Bruins put together one of their best efforts together of the series, but there was one Bruins player who sure did play his best game of the seven-game set: Tuukka Rask.
Rask was at his best Tuesday night, stopping 32 of 33. Andersen stopped 27 of 30.
Rask with 2 great saves on Marner #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/V9IzBGrxak
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS)
April 23, 2019 The Bruins will move on to face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round.
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