Bruins Totally Redeem Themselves With A Game 7 OT Win That We'll Never Forget

Even after a lifetime of watching sports, there are always games and moments that stick with you forever. Tonight, the Bruins added themselves to my short-list of epic comebacks as they rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third period at TD Garden then went on to beat the Maple Leafs 5-4 in overtime of Game 7. They advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they'll have home ice against the New York Rangers, their Original Six rival that they haven't met in the postseason since 1973.

No NHL team had ever lived to see another day after going down by three goals in the third period of Game 7 so it's only fitting that the B's would put themselves in that impossible situation yet still somehow find a way out. Patrice Bergeron was the hero for the B's, he scored the tying goal with 51 seconds left in regulation then the game-winner at 6:05. Boston actually scored the first goal (a key in Game 7s) at 5:39 of the first period as rookie defenseman Matt Bartkowski picked the perfect time to pot his first career goal. It was unassisted following a turnover along the wall by Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Franson.

Toronto answered right away when Franson tied it at 9:35 with a power play goal off a rebound. Franson put the Maple Leafs on his back, scoring the go-ahead goal at 5:48 of the second period with a blast from the point. The Maple Leafs appeared to put it away early in the third as Phil Kessel scored on another Tuukka Rask (24 saves) rebound at 2:09 then Nazem Kadri did the same at 5:29 after a 2-on-1. There can't be one Bruins fan that thought a team who had scored three goals total in almost three games could erupt for three in less than 10 minutes.

Nathan Horton got the momentum turning Boston's way when he scored on a wrist shot (his fourth goal of the series) at 9:18 from Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Toronto and James Reimer (30 saves) wanted to give the B's another goal but Boston didn't seem capable of putting another puck in the net. However with Rask pulled, Lucic (2nd goal of the series) trimmed it to 4-3 following a rebound (Reimer's old friend) on Chara's blast from the point. Bergeron had the second assist. The roof basically came off the Garden when Bergeron tied it, thanks in no small part to Chara's screen of Reimer. Rask was also on the bench for Bergeron's tying goal, the second time all season (Feb. 12 vs. Rangers) Boston scored twice with a goaltender pulled. Krejci and Jaromir Jagr assisted on Bergeron's second goal of the playoffs.

In overtime, it's all about getting the puck to the net. Usually, the deciding goal comes on a broken play, lucky bounce, etc. True to form, Bergeron's goal in overtime came following a loose puck and giveaway in front of Reimer. Bergeron put it over the Toronto goaltender who was out of position after a shot got blocked. The two biggest Bruins scapegoats for this series-Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand-showed up on that shift and they were credited with the most important assists of the seven games.

Game 1 vs. New York is Thursday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN) at TD Garden and Game 2 is Sunday afternoon (3 p.m., NBCSN) at TD Garden. The Rangers are coming off their own exhausting seven-game series, they rolled 5-0 against the Capitals tonight in DC (the first game won in the series by a road team). It doesn't get much better than Boston vs. New York (Red Sox vs. Yankees, Patriots vs. Giants), we already had a taste of it with Celtics-Knicks a few weeks ago. It's crazy that it has been so long since the Bruins and Rangers have met in the playoffs. Expect a low-scoring, very physical, long series dominated by the goaltenders. New York's Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL and the Rangers can grind teams down with the best of them.

UPDATE 5/14: We still don't know the status of Dennis Seidenberg who only played two shifts last night before getting hurt. Today, Boston called up defenseman Torey Krug from Providence.

Adam McQuaid was nominated for the Masterson Trophy (given to overcoming injuries/adversity), Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Minnesota's Josh Harding were the other selections.

UPDATE 5/15: Patrice Bergeron was nominated for the Selky Award (defensive forward) which he won last season. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Chicago's Jonathan Toews are the other impressive choices.

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Krejci (3 G) & Bruins Haunt Toronto's Dreams, Beat Maple Leafs 4-3 In OT For 3-1 Series Lead

They might take years off our collective lives but I honestly can't name anything in sports that are more exciting than NHL playoff games that go to overtime. The Bruins and Maple Leafs treated us to a dandy tonight at Air Canada Centre as David Krejci's OT winner gave Boston a 4-3 win in Game 4 and 3-1 series lead for the B's.

Toronto has to feel like this was one they let slip their through gloves since they led 2-0 in the first period after goals by Joffrey Lupul at 2:35 and Cody Franson at 18:32. It sounds silly but Boston actually played very well in the first period but they were the victims of the dreaded bad bounces. The Maple Leafs scored on their first shot, Krejci hit the post when James Reimer (41 saves) was down and out then Zdeno Chara (4 assists-franchise record for defensemen) screened Tuukka Rask (45 saves) on Franson's goal.

The momentum flipped 32 seconds into the second period as Patrice Bergeron buried a power play goal (first goal of the playoffs) from Chara and Jaromir Jagr. What a concept, Boston actually used a power play to its advantage. They can do that? Krejci tied it at 12:59 (3rd goal of the playoffs) from Marchand and Chara thanks to another juicy rebound by Reimer. That's more than a habit with Toronto's shaky goaltender. Krejci gave the B's their first lead at 16:39 on a sweet one-timer from Nathan Horton and Chara, another power play goal (seriously).

Another break went Toronto's way 44 seconds later as Johnny Boychuk blocked a shot but it went right to Clarke MacArthur who tied it up once again. There were no goals in the third period but the action was intense. Nazem Kadri got a four-minute penalty for high sticking Chris Kelly and drawing blood. Boston's power play couldn't take advantage but their penalty kill unit stepped up with their first clean sheet of the series (Toronto was 0 of 4). No kill was more important than late in the third period when Chara went off for high sticking.

In the third period and overtime-when it mattered most-Rask was brilliant. The game-winner (Krejci's 2nd career playoff hat trick) came after Maple Leafs bozo/captain Dion Phaneuf tried to drill Horton, mostly missed and took himself out of the play in Boston's end. Krejci walked in with Lucic but never dished it (thank God). Instead, he waited out Reimer then just slid it under him. Horton and Chara had the helpers on the memorable tally at 13:06.

Boston will try to close the series out on Friday (7 p.m., NESN) in Game 5 at what should be a rocking TD Garden. By winning both games in Toronto, the Bruins have totally taken over this series after splitting in Boston.

UPDATE 5/10: Wade Redden is out with an undisclosed injury in Game 5 so Matt Bartkowski was recalled from Provdience and he's expected to skate on the third line with Adam McQuaid.

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