If you missed game 7 of the Boston vs. Toronto series, then you missed one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I, like many others, figured the series would end in five. The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-1 series lead and were heading back to Boston for what many considered to be a series finale. The Maple Leafs had other plans.
Toronto threw together a couple 2-1 wins over the Bruins, tying the series up 3-3 and forcing a game seven. The Bruins had the talent, but the Maple Leafs had the momentum, and many fans were torn between who to pick for the victory. I was cautiously optimistic that the Bs would pull it off, but once they fell to a three goal deficit, I thought they had blown it for sure.
Luckily, the Bruins were a lot more resilient than I. At the end of the first, the game was tied 1-1. Toronto took a 2-1 lead after the second period. During the second intermission, Naoko Funayama asked Johnny Boychuk if the Bruins had what it takes to overcome the deficit and walk away with a victory. Boychuk said yes, but I doubt he saw it going down the way it did.
Two minutes into the third period, former Bruin, Phil Kessel scored, increasing the lead to 3-1. A little over three minutes later, Nazem Kadri scored on a two on one fast break leading to a put back on a juicy rebound from Rask. Bruins fans stared in disbelief as their team was looking at a 4-1 deficit with only 14 minutes left in their season. All hope was lost for the Bruins.
Then Nathan Horton scored.
I'll admit, my first thought was "why couldn't this have come earlier," as I felt the game was all but over. In my defense, I wasn't alone in this feeling. With two minutes to go, the bruins were still down by two and had no choice but to pull their goalie.
Then Milan Lucic scored.
At this point, as a pessimistic Boston fan (you can thank the Red Sox for that), I still didn't think we were going to pull it off. Call it a defense mechanism. I was actually a little upset that the Bruins would force me to be invested again just to be heartbroken once again. We were down by 1 goal with 0:51 left in the game.
Then Patrice Bergeron scored.
I sat in silence for some time, completely stunned by what had just transpired. I can't recall a comeback this exciting, under these circumstances, in the history of the NHL; truly unparalleled. But the game wasn't over yet. We still needed to best the resilient Maple Leafs in overtime.
The OT period did not start the way that regulation ended. Bruins seemed to be playing a little timid again, rather than the desperation and scrappiness that took them to OT in the first place. Toronto had some fast breaks. Tuukka had some great saves; a sight Bruins fans are all too familiar with.
Then Patrice Bergeron scored. Again.
The comeback was complete! The Bruins, despite a near monumental collapse, finally got their act together, won the first series of the playoffs, and completely stunned Maple Leafs nation. If you didn't watch this game, I'm requiring that you at least watch the highlights, which are posted below.
There's nothing like playoff hockey.
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