ECQF Game 6 Review: Boston Bruins 4 vs Toronto Maple Leafs 2

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We are heading to Boston for another seventh game after special teams cost a golden opportunity for the Toronto Maple Leafs to send the Bruins home.

Your game on ten:

1. This game really took a turn after the Leafs' first penalty after 10 minutes of play. The crowd was very busy, the Leafs were energetic, they tipped the ice and Boston did not have much to do. early. Everything seemed really good for the Leafs – as they lost a power play, the breakaways were short and pointed, they played fast and they looked dangerous during most of their 5v5s. Morgan Rielly then scored the first goal, of paramount importance (the Leafs won the other two games in which they scored first in this series and were generally good playing in advance). It was like a continuation of the game 5.

Even if a penalty really should not turn a game if your punishment works with skill, the penalty of Tyler Ennis was a bad one to take almost 200 feet from his own net. Prolonging such a free arm is one of the easiest things to call for officials. The Leafs have almost never fully recovered in the middle of the 30 seconds of this game after Boston took off on the first power play.

2 Zach Hyman took the vast majority of the Leafs' shorthanded draws and won only 23.8% (5 vs. 21) in the playoffs. This is absolutely what we claim against one of the best power games in the league when you start without the puck as often. Babcock is a big guy who is face to face, yet they totally ignore this key detail in an area where faceoffs are very important (PK). It's really pulling you in the foot with the lack of fit.

John Tavares was generally solid in the circle of the series and fought well against Patrice Bergeron. It does not seem difficult to adjust Tavares for a draw and to remove it if he wins. It was odd to see the Leafs return directly to Hyman in the draw for the second time in first-half penalty after the Leafs lost four straight games, including the one that led to Brad Marchand's Match goal. no one 50-50 as the Leafs winger in Mitch Marner did not take care of his guy in Merchant).

3 The other thing is that the Leafs are very passive right now: they play the conservative and let the Bruins work the puck at will. This naturally looks like a unit lacking confidence after what Boston did to them in this series (7 out of 16). On Torey Krug's goal, Pastrnak had plenty of space to score from one goal to the other, and they were squeezed backwards as the rebound slipped away and Krug picked him up at the last minute. post. There are a lot of things to settle here – there was way too much "that was too easy" for the Bruins and D leafs' power play goals and the attackers are not on the same page sometimes – but for me it starts by putting someone in place who can actually earn a few dice to be able to send it several times to 200 feet, get into his neutral zone configuration, maybe refuse some entries and see s & n's He can regain momentum / confidence in his killing that way.

4. Morgan Rielly He was driving the bus for the Leafs in this game – the +31 Corsi compared to his teammates is a breathtaking statistic to know how much he stirred the drink in this game. He scored, put six shots on goal, was aggressive and smart, jumped into the game, pinched to give points, rolled the game with his legs all match, played physical, canceled a potential breakaway with a dip Jake DeBrusk has made the defensive effort and usually led the team throughout the match by playing over 25 minutes in ice time. He might have been a little gasped at the end, though – he threw an unfair pizza straight in his own net, which David Pastrnak should have buried just minutes from the end and was beaten on Brad's black wire Trader. . Hard to criticize after throwing the team on his back for a good part of the night. It was a performance worthy of a Norris Trophy nomination so far.

5 The other two players in the Leafs best league group were Frederik Andersen – which was the only reason the Leafs were within striking range and in a position to push for a late tie – as well as Auston Matthews. John Tavares and Mitch Marner were the stars of the series at the beginning of the series but had to find a way to influence the game offensively again in the seventh game. It's one thing to say that a 5-on-5 cut is the best thing to hope against the Bergeron line, but Bruce Cassidy split his weapons into two units, Pastrnak going from one line to another. l & # 39; other. There remains only one shot on goal and a Marner -4 in his last three games.

6 The Leafs' power play issues need an article aside given their underperformance versus unit skills for most of the year and now playoffs … but it seems remarkable that Auston Matthews has three goals on the right side of the ice in this series. Morgan Rielly also made this interesting comment after the match:

"They are good at removing both riders, Mats & Mitchy, which I would probably do too. So, they leave the shot open, so it's important that I pass them and we get some rebounds … "

Clearly the book is about closing the half-walls of the Leafs, trapping the middle and setting them up as high as possible because Rielly's shot – as much as it's been very effective to succeed this year for productive advice and rebounds – does not worry anyone about their own threat. This dramatically changes the dynamic if we choose Matthews on his side for once; If Rielly can take his space and force the Bruins to get closer a little before moving to a quick option with a timer with Matthews, it will open your best shooter against the need for Matthews to manage the puck without time or space. its strong side. It has become obsolete and predictable.

7. What a frustrating sequence before Brad Marchand's 4-2 empty net goal. The goalkeeper goal without recovering the puck and establishing the offensive zone was odd, and the Leafs outside Andreas Johnsson were totally lacking in urgency. They were outmatched in a battle after inserting it. performance and organization on the part of coaches and players.

8 Staggering numbers with ice time in the last five minutes.

Nazem Kadri is the next best striker of this team outside the big four and this plays a big role here, but for now, I would say any striker except Connor Brown and Frederik Gauthier are better options than others. Patrick Marleau pushing for a goal in the final minutes. It's really hard to justify your eighth or ninth best attacker, who has the offensive cold, seeing that kind of minutes in such situations.

9 This second period of Boston was the kind of hockey that I'm sure the Bruins coaches will take as a model of what they tried to accomplish (largely unsuccessfully) in this 5-on-5 series. was really the first time this series apart from a brief stint in the second period of the first game and games in the second game as Boston slowed down the game, slouched heavily on the ice and found himself at the top of the Leafs with a lot of time-cycle for a solid 10-15 minutes or more. The Leafs, on the other hand, were really, really sloppy – suddenly unable to run tape passes or even handle a puck from time to time (Tavares, Marner, Nylander were really fighting at times). The Leafs seem to be taken aback once several things have broken against them, but Boston, to their credit, played a fantastic hockey in the middle of the first 30 games, took advantage of his opportunities (did a good job in all series, especially on the powerplay), and avoided elimination as their experienced and talented team.

ten. In the end, the veteran teams at 107 points do not come quietly into the night. It was a lesson for the Leafs and, technically, it's not something this group has experienced in their first two playoff trips – which helped close a good team – because it dragged in each series. The seventh game in Boston is something they have experienced now, though, and the coaching staff and players must intensify if they finally want to exorcise the demons inside the horror house. The good news is that both teams have responded to the losses with wins every time and the home advantage has not yet been a determining factor in the series. As we all know, games 7 are often their own animals.

Course of the game: 5v5 shooting attempts

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins Match 6

Game Highlights

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