Bruins Slammed by NHL Fans for Failing to Close Out Series vs. Maple Leafs in G6 Loss

Julia StumbaughMay 3, 2024

TORONTO, ON - MAY 2: Matthew Knies #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates to the net against Pavel Zacha #18 and Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins during the first period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 2, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

For the second straight season, the Boston Bruins have blown a 3-1 first-round series lead.

The Bruins missed their second straight chance to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs as they lost 2-1 in Thursday night's Game 6.

Both teams will now have the chance to advance to the second round with a win Saturday in Boston.

This marks the fourth straight time a series between the Bruins and Leafs has gone to seven games.

B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
GAME. 7. 🍿 <a href="https://t.co/od8EY93MY9">pic.twitter.com/od8EY93MY9</a>

It's Matthew @compSciMatt
Death, taxes, Bruins and Maple Leafs going to Game 7

The Maple Leafs have scored two or fewer goals in 11 of their last 12 playoff games.

That was enough to defeat Boston on Thursday.

The Bruins couldn't answer William Nylander's two goals until the final second of the loss, when Morgan Geekie beat Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll.

The low-scoring performance was particularly frustrating for the Bruins given that the Leafs were missing Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews.

Sara 'vehemently anti-Rangers for a long time' Civ @SaraCivian
Is it worse that the Bruins only had 5 shots in 1.5 periods or that the Leafs did nothing in that time

Ty Anderson @_TyAnderson
Bruins get two gifts with Toronto's best player out for two straight elimination games and they fail to do anything with them. Game 7 looms.

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The Bruins' inability to close out the series, even given two straight opportunities to do so, gave fans flashbacks to last season.

Boston opened the 2023 playoffs by seizing a 3-1 series lead against Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers.

The Bruins then dropped Games 5 and 6 before their season ended in overtime during Game 7 at TD Garden.

Greg Wyshynski @wyshynski
Great shot of William Nylander playing the Bruins in Game 6: <a href="https://t.co/Ze7vzs5FNZ">pic.twitter.com/Ze7vzs5FNZ</a>

Pierre LeBrun @PierreVLeBrun
Two excellent, gutsy wins in a row by the Maple Leafs. <br>Immense pressure shifts to the Bruins ahead of Game 7 with thoughts of last year. <br>What a series it's ended up being.

Bob Grove @bobgrove91
It's hard to say that ANY team in ANY Game 7 is "playing with house money," but the Leafs in Game 7 will be playing with house money. MASSIVE MASSIVE pressure on the Bruins given their 2023 collapse.

JD Bunkis @JDBunkis
Bruins on the verge of becoming the first team in NBA, NHL and MLB history to blow 3-1 series leads in back-to-back seasons. <br><br>Would be a real shame.

The Bruins won't be the only team under pressure to win in Game 7.

The Leafs, who have famously suffered six first-round losses in the past seven seasons, will be under similar scrutiny this weekend.

Harman Dayal @harmandayal2
So we either get the Bruins blowing another 3-1 series lead or the Leafs failing in another Game 7. This is an elite schadenfreude scenario for the rest of the league

The puck is set to drop for Game 7 at 8 p.m. in TD Garden.