McDonald: Time for Bruins to stop talking about the goalie, and put the puck past him

TORONTO – The Boston Bruins are pumping the tires of Maple Leaf goaltender Freddie Andersen way too much in this first-round series. That’s not to say the Bruins should be going the other way with their comments and giving the opponent bulletin-board material, but there shouldn’t be this much love being spewed.

Truth be told: Andersen has been outstanding the last two games and he led the Maple Leafs to another crucial 3-1 victory in Game 6 Monday night at Air Canada Centre to force Game 7 on Wednesday at TD Garden. He finished with 32 saves and now has 74 stops in the last two games.

“We’ve got to score. That’s what we’ve got to do different,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.



When a team is riding a hot goaltender, it bodes well when the series is heading to a decisive Game 7. The Maple Leafs are feeling good about themselves and no doubt Andersen is locked in and focused. His 42-save performance in Game 5 in Boston will serve as a huge confidence boost in Game 7.

The Bruins are trying everything to get Andersen off his game. Brad Marchand took a bumping fly-by late in the game after teammate David Backes inadvertently caught the goalie with an elbow to the head while battling for position in front.

The Bruins are getting their chances. Andersen’s making the saves.

“He’s making a lot of big saves,” Marchand said. “We’ve just got to keep going. We’re getting bodies there. We’re getting pucks there. We’re getting some really good looks, so we have to keep doing it and hopefully, it pays off for us.”

The Bruins dominated in the first two games, scoring a total of 12 goals against the Maple Leafs and even ran Andersen from Game 2. Marchand said it needs to be more of the same and not anything different in Game 7.

“We’re getting a lot of quality looks, a lot of good opportunities and he’s making some good saves. He’s a good goalie,” Marchand said. “It’s bound to happen, so we’ve just have to keep going and we need to continue to do more of the same.”

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who was subpar in Game 5 but sharp in the Game 6 loss, is witnessing a hot goaltender shutting down his team. So, what’s the best way to cool him off for Game 7?

“In this league, there are so many good goalies that you need to have traffic, and tips, and second chances, so a lot of that is playoff hockey,” Rask said. “We have to create rebounds goals and traffic in front of the net.”

With the Bruins trailing by a goal, there were times when the forwards weren’t shooting the puck and trying to make a play. It’s a sign of frustration when goal scorers aren’t scoring goals.

“A few of our guys got frustrated late,” admitted Cassidy. “Only down a goal and one shot can make the difference. Having said that, these guys have been in the league a long time and tend to see if there’s a shooting angle, and if not, you want to make the appropriate play.”

The Bruins did a better job in the second period but got away from it a bit in the third period. It helped that the Maple Leafs blocked 23 shots for Andersen, but when the puck did get through, he was making the timely saves.

“Just try to get more quality shots. We’re getting lots of good looks and give him credit. They said he was the MVP of their season and they made it known,” DeBrusk said. “It’s one of those things where we’ve got to pick our spots better. Some of our shots are hitting him, but at the same time, he’s making some good saves. Tonight, he held them in there. We had a barrage of good chances and it seems like every game we’ve lost that’s what happens. We’ve got to take what got us those chances and try to do more with them.”

Maybe the Bruins will stop the tire pumping by scoring goals against Andersen in Game 7. If not, then the once-promising season will be over.