Game 7 drama: Bruins rally to stun Leafs; Rangers romp
The Boston Bruins turned back Toronto's comeback with a rally of their own. Trailing by three goals in the third period and still down by two with less than 90 seconds left in their season, the host Bruins scored twice in a span of 31 seconds to tie it and then eliminated the Maple Leafs on Patrice Bergeron's goal at 6 minutes, 5 seconds of overtime to win, 5-4, in Game 7 on Monday night.
The Boston Bruins turned back Toronto's comeback with a rally of their own.
Trailing by three goals in the third period and still down by two with less than 90 seconds left in their season, the host Bruins scored twice in a span of 31 seconds to tie it and then eliminated the Maple Leafs on Patrice Bergeron's goal at 6 minutes, 5 seconds of overtime to win, 5-4, in Game 7 on Monday night.
"It was one of the crazy ones I've been part of," said Bergeron, who assisted on Milan Lucic's goal with 1:22 in regulation and scored to tie it with 51 seconds left in the third. "We found a way, not necessarily the way we would have liked to play the whole game."
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Bruins are the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 after trailing by three goals in the third period.
The Bruins will play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, starting at home.
Rangers blank Capitals
For 120 minutes over two games, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped every single shot Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals threw at him.
Led by Lundqvist, who made 35 saves in a second consecutive shutout, and goals from some unlikely sources, the Rangers beat the host Capitals, 5-0, in an anticlimactic Game 7, eliminating Washington for the second year in a row.
By winning a Game 7 on the road for the first time in its history, New York completed its comeback.
"He was really good, but the team was also good, too. I have to give the team some credit. They played hard in front of him," Rangers coach John Tortorella said before making sure everyone knew this: "Henrik is our backbone."