Pastrnak scores in OT, Bruins fend off Maple Leafs in Game 7

Jeremy Swayman played lights out between the pipes, stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced; he’s been the best goalie in the Stanley Cup playoffs in both save percentage and goals allowed average.

The Bruins came out on fire to start the first period, a welcome change from their previous two contests. Boston only registered three shots on goal in the first period of Games 5 and 6 combined. On Saturday, it generated 11 shots on goal in the opening frame.

None of those shots led to an opening tally, but they were key in not only sparking energy on the bench, but also testing Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov. The Maple Leafs benched Samsonov earlier in the series in favor of Joseph Woll, who played much better in Games 5 and 6 than Samsonov played through the first few.

However, an injury at some point in Game 6 held Woll out of Saturday’s Game 7, so Samsonov reclaimed his spot between the posts. To his credit, Samsonov handled the sudden change well, and stopped 29 of 31 shots in the win-or-go-home contest.

While Boston controlled much of the first period, the second was all Maple Leafs. Toronto peppered Swayman with shots, including multiple grade-A chances and a pair of breakaways. None of the Maple Leafs could break through the All-Star goalie, though.

William Nylander opened the scoring for Toronto midway through the third period, scoring his third goal in two games. Hampus Lindholm, inversely, only scored three goals all season prior to his tying tally less than two minutes later.