The First Day Of Summer

Officially, summer begins on June 20 this year, but tonight marked the first official day of summer. You know it's summer when the warm weather shows up regularly, rain is the only precipitation in the forecast, and everything starts going green in nature like the image to the left. And while that serene creek will likely be brimming with life soon, the flora in the area have clearly began their lifecycles as seeds and pollen will be produced. The picture also shows that the trees are blooming with life, and that means it's summer in Canada because the Leafs are out.

Clever word play aside, the Toronto Maple Leafs put their fans through the wringer once more this spring as they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game Seven. They took the lead in Game Seven as William Nylander continues to look more and more like former Leafs legend Mats Sundin before the Bruins erased that lead 1:21 after Nylander's marker. The two teams battled for the remaining 9:38 before the horn went, sending Game Seven to overtime. Collectively, Leafs fans held their breath.

Unfortunately, they could exhale just 1:54 into the extra frame as the release of that air came out as a disappointed sigh following David Pastrnak's overtime goal. Boston has now won four-straight Game Seven victories over Toronto dating back to 2013. The last time Toronto defeated Boston in a playoff series was in 1959, and that time will be extended for at least another season. At the end of the day, Pastrnak caught the Leafs snoozing at the absolute wrong time, and they'll pay for that lack of concentration for at least another calendar year. This one may sting for a while.

It wasn't like the Leafs were outclassed in this series either, so we can stop pointing fingers. Injuries to Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Joseph Woll played into how players were deployed by the Leafs, but Sergei Samsonov was every bit as good as Jeremy Swayman tonight as he kept Toronto in this game despite a handful of defensive breakdowns while, offensively, players like Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Matthew Knies had chances that were denied. Even the big three of Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Nylander had their looks, but the Leafs weren't outplayed in this game. In the end, it was one mistake that cost them the series.

"But Teebz, teams don't win or lose series in one game" is the protest I'll hear, and that's true except for not being able to correct mistakes in Games One through Six, so the Leafs should have learned from those errors. Game Seven is a one-and-done opportunity to clear the slate with a win, and the Leafs blundered at the absolute wrong time. One can say Rielly should have hauled down Pastrnak or dove to knock the puck away, but he didn't. One could say that Marner should have obstructed Pastrnak as he built speed through the neutral zone, but he didn't.

There were five guys on the ice who fell into the 1-3-1, and not one of them picked up on the set play that Lindholm and Pastrnak ran against them. By the time they had realized what the Bruins were doing, the chase was on, and no one caught Pastrnak before he slipped the puck past Samsonov, crushing the collective dreams of "Leafs Nation" once again. One mistake ended the season for the Leafs.

Things don't get easier for the Bruins as they'll venture to Sunrise where the Florida Panthers await. Florida ousted Boston last season before they did the same to Toronto, and the Bruins will need to be better than having the lapses we saw in this series against the Leafs. This piece isn't about that series, though, so it's back to the drawing board with the high-priced foursome and their no-movement clauses that provide very little flexibility for GM Brad Treliving this summer. For all the fixes he made this season, the end result is all too familiar.

It has to be summer tonight because all of the golf courses in and around Toronto are open for play. Tee times are available.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!