The pressure has shifted to Bruins in Game 7 vs. Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins have done what seemed to be the impossible. They have taken almost all of the pressure off of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup playoffs and placed it entirely on themselves. 

The Bruins missed another opportunity to close out their first-round series on Thursday night, dropping a second straight 2-1 decision to the Maple Leafs in Game 6, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday night in Boston.

This is the last thing the Bruins wanted, and it is kind of staggering they are even in this position to begin with. After taking complete control of the series in the first four games and jumping out to a 3-1 series lead, they have completely fallen apart in Games 5 and 6 to allow Toronto to crawl back into the series.

Making Toronto's comeback even more improbable is that it has happened without the services of the NHL's leading goal-scorer, Auston Matthews, as he has missed each of the past two games. His status for Game 7 remains uncertain. 

The biggest reason this is such an unwelcome situation for the Bruins is they are still dealing with the fallout of losing a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. That team won an NHL-record 65 regular season games and looked to be the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cups. They ended up not even getting close after losing three consecutive games to a No. 8 seed Florida Panthers team that ended up making its own run to the Stanley Cup Final. 

With those three losses, combined with a Game 7 loss in the first round of the 2022 playoffs and these two losses to Toronto, the Bruins have now lost six consecutive games in which they've had a chance to close out a series. 

That is a big problem, and if they lose again on Saturday, it is going to lead to some very big questions about this core and head coach Jim Montgomery. 

Toronto is also trying to change its narrative. The Maple Leafs have lost six consecutive Game 7s (including three in that stretch to Boston) and have won just one playoff series over the past seven years with this highly paid, extremely talented core. Another Game 7 loss to Boston and another first-round exit would be another unacceptable result. 

But even with all of that on the line, the pressure still seems like it is firmly on the Bruins, especially as Toronto plays these games without Matthews.