In Toronto Monday night, the city was reeling from an incident on the streets that left pedestrians dead and injured. Canada’s largest city was added to the list of locales in the #Strong campaign.
That #TorontoStrong energy was channeled through the arena in a 3-1 Maple Leafs win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6.
The win forces a deciding Game 7 in Boston on Wednesday.
Frederik Andersen was exceptional net again and made 32 saves to extend the series.
“I think it’s the same kind of pressure we’ve had these last two games facing elimination, and Game 7 should be the same,” Andersen said. “It’s something we all dream of playing in, these big moments, and you also want to perform.”
William Nylander and Mitchell Marner scored for the Leafs.
“You want to be in these moments in your life. You don’t remember everything in your life. What you do is you remember moments. You remember, and you want to create, those moments. You want to create memories,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “Here’s an opportunity for us to create memories with a good group of guys who like each other a lot.”
Jake DeBrusk scored the lone Boston goal early in the second period to stake the Bruins to a 1-0 lead.
“That’s the way it is, it’s all about one game. It’s one game and you’ve got to be ready for your best game,” the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara said. “We created some chances (in Game 6), we had some good looks, we just have to find a way to put it behind [Andersen].”
Tomas Plekanec sealed it late with an empty net goal from defensive face-off circle on the right wing.
“We’ve just adjusted a little bit, but it was huge to get that last one. It was a big-time PK in a big-time moment in the series,” the Leafs’ Zach Hyman said. “It was really important for us, and Freddie [Andersen] has been making huge saves so it helps.”
Once the Leafs got the lead at 2-1, they clamped down on the Bruins’ offense and limited the quality chances.
“We didn’t really give up anything too much in the third and took it to them a lot more, controlling the neutral zone, and they had trouble getting in and getting good looks,” Andersen said.
[WATCH: All Bruins vs. Maple Leafs highlights | Complete Bruins vs. Maple Leafs series coverage]
Tuukka Rask made 27 saves in the loss.
“I think we’re getting a lot of really quality looks, a lot of good opportunities, and he’s (Andersen) making some good saves. He’s a good goalie. It’s bound to happen, we just have to keep going and do more of the same,” Boston’s Brad Marchand said after the loss.
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