McDonald: Respect the team that got you here, so pass on Ryan Donato for Game 7

Ryan Donato has only one game of Stanley Cup playoff experience. He was overmatched and appeared overwhelmed. Eventually, the dynamic forward will develop into a potent postseason performer, but he’s not there – yet.

When trying to give young players experience at this point of the season, it’s always best to have them play early in a playoff series. He was given that taste and it will prove crucial as he progresses in his NHL career.

Game 7?

It’s not the time.



When the Bruins take the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at TD Garden, Donato will be watching from press level. Bruce Cassidy has to trust the players that helped the team reach this point of the season. It wouldn’t be a good message to send to the rest of the young core that no matter how hard they worked all season, and the significant contributions they made to this team, when the season is on the line that they’re the ones watching from up top.

The right decision here is to respect the players that earned the 50 wins.

That’s why Danton Heinen will be in the lineup for Game 7 and Donato won’t be. He’s a good player and will be for a long time, but the TEAM needs to win Game 7 with the players that got it to this point.

Heinen, 22, is also an important member of this team and will be for the foreseeable future. He needs this experience too. He was a healthy scratch in Game 6 and he will be a factor in Game 7. Yes, Donato, 22, could add some energy to the lineup and has the ability to score, but it bodes well for this organization’s future to stick with the process.

To a man, the Bruins need to play to their identity. Play the type of hockey that earned those 50 wins during the regular season. Stay out of the penalty box and capitalize on the power play when they get their chances. The best players will be the best players, but this is the type of situation when a player like Heinen can shine. It always seems to be the player that you don’t expect that impacts a Game 7.

“Players dream about being in this situation – Game 7,” Cassidy said. “Playing road hockey in a small town in Canada, or a big city in the United States, or somewhere in between and that’s what it’s about – enjoying the moment. Prepare to play well and go out and embrace it. It’s the simplest message we can give to our players. Do your job. Do it well. Trust the guy beside you. We’ve done it all year. That’s the mentality we’ve got to have for 60 minutes. We can’t have the lapses. That’s where Game 6 got away from us.”

Realistically, no one in the league expected the Bruins to have this type of success this season. Most believed it would fight for a wild-card spot in what was supposed to be a bridge season in Boston with the influx of young talent being thrust into the lineup on a full-time basis.

No matter a win or loss in Game 7, it will be a major building block for this organization. Trust the talent. Trust the culture. This season wasn’t about Stanley Cup or bust. This is a chance to build towards something great this season and beyond.

Since the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead before the Maple Leafs forced the decisive Game 7, most will describe this as a disaster if Boston is eliminated. Sure, it would be, but the organization’s original blueprint looks really good no matter what happens.

“There’s no panic at all in this group. We have to outplay Toronto for 60 minutes,” Cassidy said. “We’ve done it for long stretches early in this series and recently 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, unless you get some miraculous performance from an individual, which I don’t like to put all your eggs in one basket. It’s about the team playing 60 minutes.”

It’s about the team that earned those 50 wins.