The Boston Bruins have three games remaining in the 2024 calendar year. They have a home and away set against the Columbus Blue Jackets this Friday and Saturday, and then they will head down to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Capitals in a New Year’s Eve matinée. As the year winds down, it feels appropriate to look back on the ups and downs the Bruins have been through over the past 365(ish) days. One big win stands out over the last year, that being their victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their first-round series in last season’s playoffs. Let’s take a look back on that win.
A Hard-Fought Series
It is no secret that the standard in Boston is far higher than simply winning a first-round series; the expectation, rather, is that the team will contend for a Stanley Cup year in and year out. With that said, their matchup in the first round with the Maple Leafs felt much more meaningful than your typical first-round matchup. The Bruins started the series hot, taking a 3-1 lead after dominating Games 1, 3, and 4. As the first round progressed, it became evident that the winner of the matchup between these two Original Six foes would be taking on the Florida Panthers. Whether the Bruins got ahead of themselves or the Leafs were simply able to just turn things around, the Bruins found themselves after six games tied 3-3 in the series and headed into a Game 7.
As we headed into the decisive game against the Maple Leafs, it was natural for fans and media alike to think back to the 2023 postseason, when the Panthers shocked the Bruins after trailing 3-1 in the series of their opening-round matchup. The Bruins were looking to avoid becoming the first team in MLB, NBA, and NHL history to blow 3-1 leads in consecutive seasons. To have it come against a bitter rival would be salt in the wound. As if these circumstances were not nerve-racking enough, the game went scoreless for the first two and a half periods, until Auston Matthews found a wide-open William Nylander who put the puck past Jeremy Swayman back door to put Toronto up 1-0.
The Maple Leafs’ lead was short-lived. After some sustained pressure in the Maple Leafs’ zone, Hampus Lindholm wristed a lazy shot toward the net which ended up being perfectly placed over the right shoulder of Ilya Samsonov, who to that point had stood on his head for the Maple Leafs. The game went scoreless through the end of the third, and for the second season in a row, the Bruins found themselves in overtime of a Game 7 in the first round at the TD Garden. Less than two minutes into the overtime period, Lindholm was able to bank a pass off the back wall, finding a streaking David Pastrnak who pulled the puck to his backhand and lifted it over the stretched leg of Samsonov, sending the Bruins to the second round of the playoffs.
Major Ramifications
The Bruins went on to lose in the second round, falling to the Panthers for the second consecutive year. Losing to the eventual Cup winners was certainly a disappointment, however, it marked the end of a solid season–or at least a respectable one. A loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 7 would have been a much different story. It would have likely meant that the Bruins would have needed to reassess their management and personnel from top to bottom. Head coach Jim Montgomery, who has since been let go, would have almost certainly been fired. It is possible that the team would have looked at trading key players beyond Linus Ullmark.
It would have also been the end of the narrative that the Bruins have the Maple Leafs’ number and the start of a narrative that this group of players is unable to get it done in the playoffs. The Bruins’ 2023-24 season was not a success by the standard of most Bruins fans, however a loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 7 would have been a catastrophic one, and that comeback victory was easily their biggest win of the 2024 calendar year.
![Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Teases New Collaboration With Livvy Dunne [LOOK]](https://i-1.cybergalleria.com/uploads/images/tinymce-uploads/20240607/snapedit_1717775761833-1717775785-q80.webp "Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Teases New Collaboration With Livvy Dunne [LOOK]")
