Bruins' vets will need to show the way for young players in Game 7

TORONTO -- After they won the first two games of the series in such convincing fashion, the Bruins couldn't have possibly imagined that they would be forced into playing a Game 7 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And yet, here they are.

Some poor goaltending by Tuukka Rask in Game 5, coupled with the inability to put enough pucks behind Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen in Game 6 on Monday night has the Bruins in a position where their season hangs in the balance.

There was plenty of frustration for the B's Monday, but not nearly enough in the way of results. But for the B's lamenting their lost chances won't do them any good.

"You can look back all you want,'' said Patrice Bergeron after the Bruins fell 3-1. "But now it's where you're at, it's the position you're in and you have to prevail and be good.''

Bergeron, of course, has seen his share of Game 7's. In the Bruins' run to the Cup in 2011 alone, he took part in three. He's also been in some winner-take-all on the international stage -- both in the Olympics and World Cup of Hockey. The rest of the roster boasts a half-dozen players who have seen their share of  Game 7's, including Rask, David Backes, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand and a few others.

But for plenty of members of the Bruins, Wednesday will represent their first exposure to such an environment. The last time the Bruins played a Game 7 of any sort -- against the Maple Leafs, of all teams -- was in 2013, when the B's famously rallied for three goals in the final six minutes, then capped the series-winner in overtime. Five years ago, Charlie McEvoy, Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk were all teenagers, only dreaming of making it to the NHL.

They've not felt the tension or faced the pressures of playing a game that could be their last of any consequence until next October. It will up to the veterans to show the way.

"I think that's how it should be,'' said Bergeron. "When you've lived it, you want to share that experience and obviously, we have some amazing young players in this locker room and I know they're going to step up as well. As veterans who've been through that, you've got to find a way to share that with the younger players.''

Chara, the B's captain, has seen the good and the bad in Game 7. He won a Cup in Vancouver under that same scenario, and also has seen seasons come to an inglorious and premature end, as happened against the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference semifinals 2010, the Washington Capitals in the conference quarterfinals 2012 and the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, also in the conference quarterfinals.

He's seen the highs and lows that come with an elimination game, and yet, he seemed unfazed by the stakes Monday night.

"That's the way it is,'' he shrugged. "It's all about one game. It's just one game and you've got to be ready for your best (effort). We've got to be focused on what we can do better.''

For rookies like DeBrusk, who potted the Bruins' only goal Monday, this will all be new.

"I've never played in one (at the NHL level),'' he said. "I played in a couple in junior, but I'm excited for it. It's our third go-round at this chance (to put the Leafs away) and thankfully, it's at home. We're looking to get past (the disappointment of) tonight, review what we need to review and at the same time, we need to come out like we did early in the series and get the fans involved. quick and play our game.''

Indeed, if the Bruins can duplicate the kind of hockey they played in the first period of Games 1 and 2 of the series, when they swarmed Andersen and overwhelmed the Leafs, advancing shouldn't represent much of a problem.

Marchand was tight-lipped when asked what sort of guidance the vets can provide to help steer the younger players in the right direction.

"We'll talk about that internally,'' said Marchand.

And really, there's only so much that can be said. The Bruins can say the right things, but on Wednesday, it will come down to a matter of execution on the ice.

"That's the approach that we want to have,'' said Bergeron.  "That's it. There's not much to be said other than we need to be better.''

Or else.