It all comes down to this. After it looked as if the Boston Bruins were going to breeze right by an imploding Toronto Maple Leafs team, the blue and white stormed back to take Games 5 and 6.
Now it's 3-3 in the series, and a trip to the second round is on the line between the rivals as they face off in Game 7 Saturday night in Boston (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+).
Which players will be most critical to their team's success? And who will win the game?
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: Charlie Coyle. Coyle has two assists and zero goals through six games against the Maple Leafs. It's a bit jarring, considering he scored a career-high 25 goals and 60 points this regular season (both third most on the team). That allowed the Bruins to get by without more established top-six options down the middle.
This also goes back to Jim Montgomery saying he needs more from his stars. Although he was talking mostly about Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, the regular-season numbers Coyle put up mean there are expectations for him as well.
Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: Jeremy Swayman. That's assuming Jim Montgomery doesn't go completely off the deep end and start Linus Ullmark in Game 7. Swayman has been the Bruins' backbone in this series and their most consistent performer — with the .947 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average to prove it.
But although Swayman has been excellent in these playoffs — and was great in Boston's last postseason go-round, too — he has never won an elimination game. That will obviously have to change in Game 7 for the Bruins to advance. Montgomery said earlier in the first round that he thought Swayman was in the Leafs' heads a little bit. Well, now it's time for Swayman to show that script hasn't flipped to where
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