The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Game 6 of their series with the Ottawa Senators as the team with all the pressure, with all the expectation, and all the focus on them. They were looking to eliminate their provincial rival and not be forced into a deciding Game 7 with the prospect of blowing a 3-0 lead hanging over their heads.
The Leafs got a sizable contribution from their core group, won the special teams battle, and responded to a late Sens rally to win 4-2 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. Auston Matthews and William Nylander staked Toronto to a 2-0 lead early in the second. Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk chipped away at the lead with a goal midway through the second, and David Perron tied the game late in the third, but Max Pacioretty responded with the game winner with 5:39 remaining, and Nylander iced the series away with a late empty-netter.
While three of the four goals were scored by the core group, the Leafs got big performances from their defensive corp, as they blocked 10 shots in front of Anthony Stolarz. Pacioretty, who some observers on social media criticized his even being in the lineup, let alone being elevated to the second line with John Tavares and Nylander, registered a goal and an assist in just under 14 minutes of ice time.
“It’s a huge goal. (Pacioretty) had some opportunities, he hit the post there in the first,(and) had a nice play on Willie’s goal,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. “He did a real good job for us. Veteran guy, has been around, played a lot of playoff games, and he came through for us.”
The biggest play may have been Scott Laughton’s block with Ottawa pressing for the tying goal. The shot block led to Nylander’s insurance goal and the series victory in six games, setting up a matchup with the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
“What a block by Laughton at the end of the game, that’s laying it on the line,” Berube said. “That’s how you win a series.”
Toronto will have a short rest before facing the Panthers, who eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games on Wednesday. The NHL has not released the schedule for the second round yet, but with Dallas–Colorado and possibly St. Louis–Winnipeg going seven games, and Carolina–Washington advancing earlier in the week, the earliest the Leafs are likely to play would be Sunday.
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