The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are set for Game 7 Wednesday night, something almost inconceivable when the Blue and White fell behind 3-1 after being thoroughly outplayed. But, just as they did in 2013, the young team pushed all the way back to force a win-and-move-on scenario.
Toronto faithful just hope this year’s outcome is different. No lead will be taken for granted.
In Boston, the expectation through most of the season was to win the Stanley Cup, especially after they started to separate themselves as one of the top teams in the league with the best line in the NHL. In Toronto, the Cup window is just opening and their expectation was to hopefully improve on last year’s first-round exit to the hands of the Washington Capitals. In sum, either team’s fan base would be devastated with an early dismissal.
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Everything is on the line Wednesday night. Before the puck drops, we look at some numbers heading into the only Game 7 in Round 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
4: This is the fourth Game 7 between the Maple Leafs and Bruins in their history, the most recent of which was the memorable OT win by Boston in 2013. The other two came in 1941 and 1959, both of which were semifinal series. In ’41, Boston beat Toronto 2-1 on a winning goal scored by Mel Hill 14:17 into the third period. The ’59 series ended with a 3-2 win by the Maple Leafs when Gerry Ehman scored the winner with two-and-a-half minutes left in regulation on assists from Frank Mahovlich and Carl Brewer.
If history is any indication, we’ll have another tight one-goal game Wednesday night.
9: The Bruins may be the more experienced team, but behind the bench the Maple Leafs have the veteran’s advantage. This will be the ninth Game 7 Mike Babcock has coached in the NHL, and he comes into it with a 5-3 record. On the other side, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy will see the first Game 7 of his career.
11: The total number of players who were dressed for the Toronto-Boston Game 7 in 2013 that could also be in the lineup Wednesday. Seven of those players are Bruins: Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, Anton Khudobin, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Adam McQuaid. Torey Krug was also with the team in 2013, but did not dress in the Game 7. The four players still with the Maple Leafs are Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov and James van Riemsdyk.
12: Assuming there’s no last-minute injury news, Chara will play in his 12th career Game 7 Wednesday night, moving him into a tie with Glenn Anderson, Ken Daneyko and Stephane Yelle for the third-most all-time. Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens both played in 13 Game 7s, making Chara the leader among active players. Patrice Bergeron will play in his 10th career Game 7, making him the sixth active player to hit that mark. Dominic Moore has played the most Game 7s for the Leafs at eight, while Patrick Marleau is second with six.
26: Wednesday’s showdown with the Maple Leafs will be the 26th Game 7 ever played by the Boston Bruins, which will break a tie with the Detroit Red Wings for the most in NHL history. If Boston wins, the franchise would tie for the most Game 7 wins in history as well, giving them 14 to draw even with both Montreal and Detroit.
The Maple Leafs will play in their 23rd Game 7 in history, in which they have a 12-10 record. Wednesday’s game is in Boston, so it’s also worth noting the home-road splits for these teams all-time. The Leafs have a 5-9 record on the road in Game 7, while the Bruins are 12-8 at home. In every Game 7 ever played, the home teams hold a 99-70 advantage.
41: This will mark the 170th Game 7 in NHL history and 41 of them have required overtime. The home-road splits are far less obvious when these games go to extra time, with the home teams holding a slim 21-20 advantage.
126: Even though goals have risen across the league this season, scoring first is still an important advantage to have. And in the history of Game 7s, we see this is also true. In the 169 Game 7s played in NHL history, the team that scored first has won 126 of them.
128:47: The longest Game 7 ever played is known as the Easter Epic, because it began on Saturday and ended in the early hours of Easter Sunday. In 1987, the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals played into the fourth overtime before Pat LaFontaine scored to end it and send the Islanders on to the next round. A total of 128:47 of hockey was played to get to that point, and the two teams left the ice at 1:58 a.m. ET. It was the only lead the Islanders had in the game.
Leaf fans will be interested to know that the Islanders came back from a 3-1 deficit in that series.
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