For the Leafs, the most important takeaway from Game 6 was the fact that it won’t be followed by a Game 7.
The “Sens in 7!” chant that crept up again and again from the Canadian Tire Centre crowd. Few would have surprised had the Leafs played tight and tense through Game 6 and allowed another opportunity to close out a series slip through their fingers. Heading into Game 6, the Leafs were 1-13 in possible series-clinching games since 2018.
That statistic has been brought up again and again over the last 48 hours.
-Seven games felt very possible. But it didn’t happen, and in the short term, the Leafs deserve credit for silencing the growing anxiety around them and just playing a better game than the Senators. The Leafs strung together decent chance after chance and locked things down in their own end more often than not.
Getting a clutch goal from a veteran in Pacioretty late in the third period is likely part of what GM Brad Treliving had in mind when he added all the veterans he did ahead of this season.
The Leafs looked like they did through the regular season, when they would take a lead and rely on their defensive structure to close out a game. They did that without overthinking where they were in the playoffs. For this Leafs team, that matters.
