Unfortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs cup run ended last night in Boston.
The Boston Bruins defeated th Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 7-4. In nearly all areas, the Bruins were truly the better team. Bruce Cassidy out-coached Mike Babcock, and the Bruins proved to be strong at both ends of the ice.
I want to avoid blaming select players in this post.
I will say that if fans blame Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Frederik Andersen or Jake Gardiner for the game seven loss it’s a mistake. Yes, there were times when I was frustrated with Gardiner. But, to pin the loss on him is highly unfair.
Ice Hockey is a team sport and there’s no “I” in team. Without a doubt, the Leafs lost as a team last night.
To be honest, I’d rather not re-live the results of last night in this post. Instead, I’ll tell you my experience of being at TD Garden for game 7.
Arriving At The Garden
Nick DeSouza and I made it to the game with a few minutes to spare due to heavy traffic on Boston’s Storrow Drive. Once we arrived at TD Garden, we walked up to the balcony where our seats were.
Immediately, I knew I was in for a long night when the guy sitting next to me turned to me and s:aid “Bud, I think you are in the wrong seats.”
Our seat neighbor was making a joke, as we’re Leafs fans and he’s clearly a Bruins fan, sporting a Patrice Bergeron jersey.
All-in-all, he turned out to be a nice guy and wasn’t refrained from being rude towards us. He even asked where we were from and tried to get to know us better.
On Nick’s side, he sat next to a guy who just moved to Boston from Cincinnati. He was a big Columbus Blue Jackets fan and had mentioned that his buddy, a Bruins fan, told him he should come to the game with him.
Of course, the guy said yes. Who would turn down a free game 7 ticket?
In-Game Experience
The in-game experience was phenomenal.
I’ve been to TD Garden many times for both Bruins and Celtics games, but there is nothing like a playoff game in Boston. The fans are loud and extremely into the game. Every second of play, the crowd is active and on their feet.
In terms of wearing a Leafs sweater at the Garden, we really weren’t taunted.
In the past, I’ve been heckled for wearing my Leafs sweater. But, last night was different. Fans just wanted to show up and see a well-fought game.
Yes, there was some roughing. Zach Hyman wasn’t a stranger to the Bruins and was eager to get into fisticuffs.
For our meal, DeSouza and I devoured one massive slice each of Sal’s Pizza, a Boston pizza chain. I might need to get my cholesterol checked today after inhaling that oily slice.
In fact, the slice was probably twice as big as what you’d get at Pizza Pizza or Pizzaiolo.
Post-Game Experience
Post-game wasn’t fun, but it could have been worse.
DeSouza and I bolted out of the Garden as fast as we could. Both of us were worried about encountering drunk Bruins fans who were looking to throw a punch.
Luckily that wasn’t the case and neither of us received a black eye.
Oddly enough, the Bruins fans we encountered post-game were rather friendly. We probably spoke to a good 75 Bruins faithful while waiting for an Uber outside the garden. Some of them were apologetic, while some weren’t as kind.
The apologetic ones were truly nice and wanted to talk to us about the Leafs. The conversation wasn’t impolite banter, but more relating to how the Maple Leafs played a great series and how they’ll be back hungrier next year.
Plus they even said what all Maple Leafs fans have been saying, we need another defenseman. So Leafs Nation, we aren’t the only ones that see it. Every fan across the NHL does too.
In addition, we bumped into several Toronto natives, who were sporting Maple Leafs jerseys as well. We wished them safe travels back home and before finally stuffing ourselves into an Uber.
At the end of the day, we had a good time. It wasn’t a great ending for the Maple Leafs, but we survived and watched a great game.