Mirtle: How the Maple Leafs forced Game 7 — and how they can win it

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This was the antithesis to the mess the Toronto Maple Leafs offered up in Game 5.

They were focused and engaged, pushing all-in on forechecks and backchecks right from the opening puck drop. The Leafs looked like a team with their season on the line — which, of course, it was, but being in that scenario hasn’t always led to a similar effort.

The obvious high points in Friday’s 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 6 were important ones.

1. Auston Matthews broke through with the winning goal, the second in Leafs history for a Leafs captain when facing elimination, following Darryl Sittler way back in 1976.

2. Max Pacioretty added an important insurance goal, his eighth in an elimination game in his career and third tally of these playoffs despite starting them as a healthy scratch.

3. And Joseph Woll became the first Leafs goaltender to post a shutout when facing elimination since Curtis Joseph way back in the 2002 conference finals.

A lot of the keys to victory here, however, weren’t among the game’s high notes. They were the unsexy things Toronto did to stifle Florida all night, like limiting them to the fewest slot shots in a game played by any team in the postseason thus far.

The Leafs penalty kill — a weak point most of the season — went four for four, allowing just one shot on goal (!) in seven and a half minutes. Overall, the Leafs blocked a ridiculous 31 shots (compared to just 10 for the Panthers), one of the highest totals for any team in a game all postseason. They also had 13 high-danger chances to just six for Florida at even strength, their best performance in that stat all spring. And Toronto dominated the faceoff circle, winning 61 percent of draws, including nine of 14 with the game on the line in the third period.

None of it earns headlines. But on the road, in a must-win game, against such a patient, experienced and, frankly, frustrating opponent, it’s how you win on nights like this.

There were unsung heroes throughout the lineup for Toronto. Sixth defenseman Simon Benoit was second on the team in ice time, with 20:04, and it was all D zone starts, shot blocks and big hits when the moment arose. Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson — the trio of veteran D GM Brad Treliving added this season specifically for games like this — were all basically airtight, rising to the occasion in a game where the margin for error was basically nothing until Matthews ripped home his wrister with 13:40 left in the game.

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Even Pontus Holmberg was buzzing, taking punishing hits and somehow leading the team in expected goals — which, let’s face it, isn’t ideal, but it was nice to see more of the depth players at least getting to the net and creating havoc.

But I think the biggest thing in Game 6 was the Leafs just played far more composed, something that has been a struggle in all of the last three games, where the Panthers simply looked like the more experienced, battle-tested team.

There were no panic or no-hope plays. They just matched Florida in the grind game, and, I would argue, exceeded them in sheer effort for loose pucks and clears.

Head coach Craig Berube liked what he saw.

“We played a simple game tonight,” Berube said. “And we were determined. That stands out for me more than anything. Determination. On our toes, skating, moving the puck, doing all the little things right. We managed the puck really well tonight in my opinion. We didn’t have many turnovers. Got pucks deep. All the simple things.”

That’s really how the Leafs won a lot of games this season, to the point they posted the fourth-best record in the NHL. They weren’t the offensive juggernaut of previous years, not with Matthews dropping from 69 goals down to 33 in the regular season, and had to win a lot more 2-1 and 3-2 games in the past.

I called it “winning ugly” in Round 1 and didn’t mean it in a derogatory way. It’s often how teams get through in the playoffs, with the way coaches coach and how games are called by officials. You aren’t painting many Picassos on mushy spring ice up against the best teams in the league.

The Leafs have struggled to win that way in the past. That’s not exactly news. This was just their third elimination game win in nine years. And they may yet struggle to get it done in Game 7 on Sunday, reverting to the form that lost them three games in a row in this series. But Friday showed they have it in them.

When I mentioned to my editor after the game that I wanted to write about how the Leafs won Game 6 by getting into some of these details, they asked to “push it forward a bit” and explain how they can now win the series. The answer to that, however, isn’t really a whole story. It’s pretty simple: watch the game tape of this win and commit to doing it all over again.

That won’t guarantee victory, not in a series where there’s this little separating these two teams, but it’s going to be their best chance to pull off the upset. These Leafs have come up small so many times in big games that quieting whatever internal doubts they have is going to be absolutely vital on Sunday, as there’s just no room for what Berube called “overthinking” after that Game 5 loss.

If they need a confidence boost, however, Game 6 should be what gives it to them. That’s who they are, when they’re at their best. It should be something to build on, as they catch their breath on an off day at home on Saturday.

The Leafs were the better, more complete team here, perhaps more than in any other game in this series. They got contributions throughout the lineup, and there was no panic, even with the adversity of the early penalty calls and a midgame injury to Matthew Knies. Their young goaltender was excellent, rebounding from a shelling the game before. Their old horses such as Pacioretty stepped up. The back end ate everything thrown at them and didn’t budge. And Matthews looked like a leader, willing his team to a win.

That’s the recipe.

“We gotta come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did tonight,” Berube said. “It’s not fancy.”

Play smart and simple and wait for your openings. Make the most of those moments when they come. And maybe, just maybe, finally rewrite the narrative that you’re a team built around players that can’t win games like this one.

(Photo: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

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