If you all watched the game you would realize the last 3 games in this series was a clear focus on DEFENCE. Both Boston and Toronto had a clear game plan, no D pinches, always 2-3 guys above the puck, there was no real intent to drive any risky offence, so it was a waiting game, who was going to be lucky. As you can see on the OT goal, all 5 leaf players are on the defensive side of the red line...this was for 3 games....no one was going to be consistently driving offense and scoring chances. And then we all sit here and complain there was no offense. Years past it was we can't play defence we need to shut things down, we need to play a gritty playoff game, well Boston is no slouch. It takes discipline and LUCK, we got lucky in G5/6, and unlucky in G7, when you go down 3-1 that's where the odds are against you. We lost the series in G1-4, not game 7. Had they played all 7 games like they did in G5-7 probably a different outcome.
On game tying goal, Kampf barely made an attempt on the Lindholm shot, that's where a 4th liner needs to put it on the line, body sacrificed so that puck doesn;t get to the net, 3rd period G7, no reason not to sacrifice everything....and on OT goal, starts with the non pressure in NZ, Tavares/Bushkin got signals crossed, both went to Boston player on blue line, left Lindhom with time to get the middle of the ice and accurately pick his dump in/pass....Marner had just got on the ice and was the last man back, Nylander and Reilly both hesitant on the dump in, they were just not focused and prepared for that play....Pastarnak makes what only a few players can make, and sure Samsonov could have played it different, but he had a split second to make that decision. The series was lost before G7 OT.
