This Bruins core has far more at stake in Game 7 than another crushing playoff elimination - The Boston Globe

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The odds should favor the Bruins Saturday. At least they should against a team like the Maple Leafs, right?

Right?

After all, Toronto has been mired in postseason purgatory for years, saddled with narratives about a lack of mettle, a knack for no-show performances, and a propensity to underwhelm on hockey's brightest stage.

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But given the past five days, it would be hard to differentiate between a Leafs team trying to shake that losing label and a Bruins team following the same miserable playoff script.

With another potential series collapse looming Saturday night, this Bruins core is staring at more than just another letdown.

"You just got to will it," Coyle said. "It's will, work, compete, and having the heart to do it. No better chance to do it than in a Game 7. We're pumped, we're excited, and we'll take advantage of this opportunity."

But the Bruins have instilled little confidence against a Toronto team keeping its season alive without its top player, Auston Matthews.

Urgency has not resonated with the Bruins since they put the Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination in Game 4, with Jim Montgomery's team generating a combined three shots on goal in the first periods of Games 5 and 6.

Another sleepwalking start Saturday could lead the Bruins to grip their sticks even tighter in front of an antsy home crowd. The Bruins are just 2-5 in home playoff games under Montgomery, and have not won any of their last six series-clinching opportunities since 2022.

Toronto's Joseph Woll (.961 save percentage in Games 5 and 6) has served as a proper remedy in net after a poor showing from Ilya Samsonov (.883). But the Bruins have done little to put the Boston College product under duress.

"We got to get bodies in front of the net," Coyle noted. "You ask any goalie; no goalie likes traffic. So we're going to keep creating traffic there."

While trying to pepper Woll and fight inside against a stingy Toronto defensive structure, the Bruins will need another sterling showing between their own pipes — with Jeremy Swayman (.947 save percentage in this series) the favorite to get the nod.

Swayman has been up to the task so far. The same can't be said for the majority of his teammates.

"We need everybody more like Jeremy Swayman," Montgomery noted. "Like he's just — owns the moment, he's in the moment. He's staying in the moment. And he's relishing being a difference-maker."

For all the preaching of staying in the moment and the merits of a team-first culture, that praise will ring hollow if the Bruins' leaders don't stave off another Game 7 collapse.

David Pastrnak (two goals, 4 points in six games) bore the brunt of his coach's criticism following Game 6. But he is far from the only culprit.

After buoying the top six down the middle during the regular season, Coyle has zero points at five-on-five play vs. Toronto, while Pavel Zacha has not lit the lamp in 18 career playoff games. Zacha won just one of 10 faceoffs in Game 6.

Defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm have been on the ice for five Toronto goals at five-on-five, with McAvoy playing a central role in both Leafs' tallies in Game 6 — as well as Matthew Knies's OT winner in Game 5.

As much as the Bruins harp on staying grounded, it's hard to ignore the consequences if Saturday results in yet another loss — both for Montgomery and this core.

"You can't dwell on the past," Montgomery said. "It's not healthy. If you dwell on those moments, where is your mind-set? You think about how you're going to overcome those moments. That gets you excited, and that's where my mind-set is."

The Bruins have more than just a season hanging in the balance. For most of this core, legacies will be on the line.

Those narratives are tough to shake. Just ask the Maple Leafs.

The time for positive talk is over. All that remains is another Game 7. No pressure.

…

Montgomery did not budge when it came to any potential lineup tweaks for Saturday night. "Too early to say," he offered. "We'll know that more tomorrow." … The Bruins did not practice Friday, but Montgomery stressed that they are "doing some things already to change what we hoped would be a different start" on home ice. The Bruins will hold Saturday's morning skate at TD Garden rather than Warrior Ice Arena … As for Matthews's availability for Game 7, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said, "There's been progress. He skated again here today, but no determination on his availability."

Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.