Bruins maintain calm heading to Game 7 against Maple Leafs

BOSTON --The Boston Bruins gathered on the ice, surrounding coach Bruce Cassidy. They listened while he talked, gestured with his stick and directed them. Full practices are rare in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a luxury or a necessity born of something wrong. This case was the latter.
The Bruins had returned to Boston late Monday night from Toronto after losing 3-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round, two days after a 4-3 loss in Game 5 at home. They had once been up 3-1 in the series, and now are tied 3-3, bound for Game 7 at TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

RELATED: [Complete Bruins vs. Maple Leafs series coverage]
The practice was designed to get the team on the ice, to put Game 6 behind them, to get them feeling right. It was not designed as pressure, as panic, as a way to change much of anything, though the lines Cassidy used did indicate he would switch back from forward Tommy Wingels to Danton Heinen for Game 7, the lineup he had used for most of the series.
"I don't think there's any panic at all in this group," Cassidy said. "We have to outplay Toronto for 60 minutes. I think we've done it for long stretches early in the series. Recently I think we've done it -- in the games we've lost, we've outplayed them.
"But we've got to do it for a full 60 minutes. That's usually the team that's going to win."
It's not as if the Bruins are being dramatically outplayed in the series. In most of the games, they've dominated the possession metrics and outshot the Maple Leafs.
In Game 5, the first chance for Boston to clinch the series, it outshot Toronto 45-21, with the shot attempts even more dramatic (90-39). The Bruins lost, 4-3. It was much the same in Game 6; Boston outshot Toronto 33-30, and out-attempted the Maple Leafs 72-43.

The difference was missed nets and blocked shots -- and Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen.
So how do the Bruins approach Game 7?
"We always want to make adjustments as coaches and correct mistakes," Cassidy said. "It's what we do. We spend a lot of time watching video. We spend a lot of time being so-called experts on the game. And sometimes you've got to just let the players play it. Tomorrow it's a balance for us."
They have to make corrections, not allow the stretch passes, not allow the 2-on-2 rushes, figuring out to finish on the plethora of shot attempts they're getting.
But they don't have to overdo it. In fact, they shouldn't.
They're too close.
"We feel confident in this locker room, still," defenseman Charlie McAvoy said.
And they should. Though that doesn't mean they should do exactly as they have the past two games, which they lost in frustrating fashion.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask needs to match Andersen, to make the great saves, and also the saves that are there for the taking. The defense needs to tighten up. The offense needs to hit the net.
They do not need to be alarmed. They do not need to overthink or over-coach.

They need to start well, to grab the game in the first 10 minutes, to use the TD Garden crowd and the emotion and remember they have been in this position before and have succeeded in this position before.
"I think you've got to just put it into perspective: Though this is the highest level and the biggest scale in the playoffs, try and downsize it almost," McAvoy said. "Just remember that this is the game you love. This is the NHL playoffs. This is what you grow up as a kid dreaming of, playing in that Game 7 game and making a difference, having an impact."
McAvoy smiled as he answered, a grin creeping onto his face. The defenseman clearly has not been at his best in this series, still coming back from the sprained MCL that cost him the final month of the regular season, from March 3- April 3. He has had ups and downs, just as the Bruins have, and he is among the players who needs to be better in Game 7.
Still, he didn't seem under pressure. He didn't seem tight. He smiled and remembered this was supposed to be fun.
"You watch these games, and we're playing good hockey," he said. "We're going to break through at some point."