Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Maple Leafs force Game 7 against Bruins

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the 2018 NHL postseason. There were two games Monday, both in the Eastern Conference.

Here are the scores from Monday:

Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 3
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Boston Bruins 1

Need to know

The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will play Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Wednesday (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS, NESN). Here are some Game 7 facts.
* The Bruins are 13-12 all-time in Game 7s, including 12-8 on home ice. This will mark Boston's 26th appearance in a Game 7, breaking a tie with the Detroit Red Wings (25) for the most in NHL history.
* The Maple Leafs are 12-10 all-time in Game 7s, including 5-9 on the road.
* Boston holds a 2-1 edge in three previous head-to-head Game 7s against Toronto, including the 2013 Conference Quarterfinals, when the Bruins became the first team in NHL history to overcome being behind by three goals in the third period to win a Game 7.
* The team that scores first is 126-43 (.746) in 169 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Home teams are 99-70 (.586) in those 169 Game 7s.
* Forty-one Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have required overtime (24.3 percent). Home teams have a 21-20 edge.

What we learned

Here are some things we learned on Day 13 of the playoffs:

Capitals are resilient

After losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference First Round to the Columbus Blue Jackets at home in overtime, the Washington Capitals didn't blink. With everyone else reminding the Capitals of their past Stanley Cup Playoff failures, forward Alex Ovechkin was confidently predicting they would win the next two games in Columbus to even the series.
After they did that, including a gut-checking 3-2 win in double overtime in Game 3, they also won the next two games to close out the series in six and advance to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.

Blue Jackets need more pieces

Though the Blue Jackets took some positive steps and finished the regular season strong by going 13-2-2 in their final 17 games, they are still looking for their first playoff series win in their 17-season history. They appeared on their way after winning the first two games, but the Capitals proved to be the deeper team as the series progressed. Washington focused on wearing down Columbus' top defense pair of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones, which paid off later in the series, and the Blue Jackets didn't have enough secondary scoring when the Capitals shut down forward Artemi Panarin in the final three games. Columbus also never found an answer for Washington's power play, which scored at least one goal in each of the six games and went 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) in the series.

Maple Leafs figured out how to be closers

When the Maple Leafs held on for a 4-3 victory in Game 5 against the Bruins, it was largely because of goaltender Frederik Andersen, who made 19 saves in the third period. Toronto never trailed in the game, but looked wobbly in the late going. Not so in their 3-1 win in Game 6 on Monday. Carrying a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes after a shaky second period, Toronto tightened up at the back end and held the visiting Bruins to seven shots in the third. If Toronto can institute a similar defensive plan for a full 60 minutes in Game 7 on Wednesday, it will have a legitimate shot to win the series.

As Bergeron line goes, so go Bruins

In the first two games of the series, each a win for the Bruins, the line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak combined for 20 points (five goals, 15 assists). It had three points in Game 4, the other game won by the Bruins in the series, But in Games 3, 5, and 6, each a Boston loss, the line didn't score a point. Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak likely hold the key to the Bruins season. The performance of the three forwards, each a 30-goal scorer in the regular season, will be crucial in Game 7.

About Last Night

There were two Game 6s on Monday, one a series-clinching win.
Washington Capitals 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 -- The Capitals, behind two goals from Ovechkin, won their fourth straight game after losing the first two and eliminated the Blue Jackets. Next up for Ovechkin and the Capitals: a second-round matchup against center Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third straight season.
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Boston Bruins 1 -- Andersen made 32 saves and the Maple Leafs, who trailed the best-of-7 series 3-1, won at home to force a Game 7 in Boston on Wednesday. William Nylander, Mitchell Marner and Tomas Plekanec scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won the past two games.