Bruins, Leafs go to Game 7 for 3rd straight playoff matchup

BOSTON — Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy doesn't want to change too much heading into Game 7 of Boston's first-round series against Toronto, explaining that his players "are a bit like dogs."

"They love routines, especially on game days," he said after the team's practice on Monday. "So I think you try to stay as close to the routine as possible."

Now all Cassidy needs to know is if he's got a locker room full of bloodhounds, in single-minded pursuit of their quarry, or some cuddly golden retrievers that just want a belly rub.

For the second straight year and the third time in as many playoff matchups, the Bruins and Maple Leafs have taken a series to the limit. The winner of Tuesday night's game (7 p.m. EDT, NBCSN) will head to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Bruins earned the right to play Game 7 at home by finishing seven points up on the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division, but home-ice advantage hasn't meant much so far in the series. No team has won two in a row over the first six games; Boston would need to break that streak to advance.

"It's exciting. Game 7. It's what you play for," defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "Everything's on the line."

The Leafs could have ended this one in six games, but Boston won in Toronto 4-2 on Sunday to send a shiver through the city: In 2013, the Leafs led the Bruins by three goals in the third period of Game 7 before losing in overtime.

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Last year, Toronto led Game 7 last year 4-3 heading into the third period but lost 7-4. Only one player from the unprecedented 2013 collapse will be in uniform on Tuesday night (Jake Gardiner; Nazem Kadri has been suspended).

"It's a new set of circumstances," Leafs forward John Tavares, who was signed as a free agent last offseason, told The Canadian Press after Game 6. "It's a lot of guys who haven't been here, including myself."

There are five Bruins left from the '13 comeback: Chara, Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci. When Chara takes the ice, he will tie the NHL record (Patrick Roy, Scott Stevens) by appearing in the 13th Game 7 of his career.

He has four assists and a 5-7 record in those games.

"He's seen it all, right?" Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said. "He's been a calming influence every single time he steps on the ice for our team. ... When you see he has that look in his eye, it definitely brings another dimension to this team."

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With the Knights and Sharks also going to a seventh game on Tuesday night, it will be the first time the NHL will hold a pair of Game 7s on the same day since May 10, 2017, when the Penguins beat the Capitals and the Ducks beat the Oilers to reach their respective conference finals.

"The two series they were saying were pretty evenly matched were us and San Jose-Vegas," Cassidy said. "So here we are."

Associated Press