Maple Leafs facing not only Lightning, but pressure in Game 7 Saturday

TAMPA — The pressure will be on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Saturday.

All of it. 

And it will be incredible.

The pressure began building the moment Brayden Point scored at 18:04 of overtime in Game 6, giving the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 win at Amalie Arena on Thursday, and it will keep building up to and through Game 7.

The Maple Leafs’ challenge is to embrace it, to overcome it, to give the fans packed inside Scotiabank Arena and outside in Maple Leaf Square something they haven’t seen in so long.

“Well, I think that’s all we can do,” Toronto center Auston Matthews said. “I mean, what’s in the past is in the past, man. We can’t change anything now. It’s about this next game and going out there with a purpose and details and just competing for 60 minutes or whatever it takes. We’ve just got to put our [guts] on the line and go for it.”

[RELATED: Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]

The Lightning are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The question isn’t whether they can do it; it’s how many times they can. If they lose this Game 7, there will be no shame in failing to win three championships in a row, something no team has done since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.

The Maple Leafs are different. The question isn’t whether they can win the Cup; it’s if they can win a series. If they lose Game 7, it will be 18 years and 17 seasons since their last series win, in seven games against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2004. It will be seven straight opening-round losses, including one in each of the past six seasons. It will be their fourth Game 7 elimination in five years, their fifth in 10.

None of the Maple Leafs have been in Toronto since 2004. But Brendan Shanahan has been president since 2014, Kyle Dubas has been general manager since 2018 and Sheldon Keefe has been coach since 2019. From the longest-tenured player, defenseman Morgan Rielly, a rookie in 2013-14, to the newest additions, everyone knows the history and what it means to the city. Everyone feels its weight, no matter what he says. 

“It’s up to you guys who you think the pressure’s on,” Rielly said, referring to reporters. “For us, it’s a chance on home ice to go out there and win. I mean, I thought we played a pretty good game tonight, for the most part. But, they’re [the] two-time Stanley Cup champions. They know how to handle these situations, and we’re trying to break through.”

Video: Point propels Lightning to Game 6 win, forces Game 7

Each mistake is magnified in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and each mistake certainly was in Game 6.

Forward Alexander Kerfoot dropped a pass to no one in the neutral zone, and forward Ondrej Palat pounced on it and scored, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 17:38 of the first period.

Defenseman Mark Giordano turned over the puck in the neutral zone, and center Anthony Cirelli raced down the ice, did a spin-o-rama and scored shorthanded, giving Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead at 10:46 of the second period.

After Toronto came back to take a 3-2 lead, scoring twice in the final 34 seconds of the second period, Kerfoot took a penalty for high-sticking defenseman Victor Hedman in the offensive zone, giving Tampa Bay a 5-on-3. Forward Nikita Kucherov cashed in to tie the game 3-3 at 9:20 of the third period.

Then it came down to overtime and whoever capitalized on an opportunity. Point did by banging in a rebound.

Now it’s down to Game 7. The Maple Leafs want to avoid the mistakes they made in Game 6 and play with the same resiliency. They need to find a way to capitalize on the opportunity.

The Lightning have done it before. They defeated the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals last season.

“You rely on past experience,” Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos said. “We were in this position not too long ago in the [semifinals]. You just have to bring it. You never know what that moment is in the game.

“It’s almost like you’re playing three overtime periods. That’s the magnitude of every shift. A mistake, a penalty or a great blocked shot, you don’t know what that moment is going to be in a Game 7, so you just have to lay it on the line.”

Can the Maple Leafs get it done? Finally?

“I’m anticipating the building’s going to be rocking,” Matthews said. “It’s going to be a pretty exciting atmosphere and just something that we’ve got to embrace. It’s right there for us. We’ve just got to take it.”