Nathan Horton News

Giving the puck to Brad Marchand during the Toronto series was like tossing it into a black hole.

The motto stuck with Andrew Ference after befriending Staff Sergeant Lucas Carr and a group of Army Rangers in 2007.

It was unfolding perfectly for the visitors at Boston's TD Garden on Monday. In the best-of-seven opening playoff round, the Leafs had won the previous two games; surviving late Boston flurries for consecutive 2-1 victories that forced a Game 7 on the Bruins' home ice.

Bruins fans may not be able or willing to put Game 7 in the past and move on just yet, but the Bruins themselves have no choice.

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer, left, makes a save on Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, center, as Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri looks on during the third period of Game 3 of their first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, May 6, 2013, in Toronto.

It's Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Bruins and Rangers have no secrets.

From his perch on the ninth floor, Peter Chiarelli looked down on the ice at what he feared were the last few minutes of the Bruins' season.

In a come-from-behind Game 7 win over the Maple Leafs on Monday, Bruins' Milan Lucic dominated physically, scored a goal and set up another.

With a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead over the Bruins midway through the third period, Nathan Horton 's goal made Leaf fans a little nervous.

Congress was not told tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, even after acting agency Chief Steven Miller had been briefed on the matter.

In the first round, Randy and I were each 5-for-8 in our predictions. Let's see what the conference semifinals bring.

Only eight of the league's original 30 teams are still standing at the Tuesday kickoff of the conference semi-finals. Both regular season conference champions and decisive Stanley Cup favorites remain in play, but the rest of the field consists of a dense, competitive group of dark horses and lower seeds.

The Bruins will enter Game 7 Monday night with 17 goals in their first six playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Captain Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel scored third-period goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Boston Bruins 2-1 Sunday to send their playoff series back to Boston for Game 7. Not only did the win keep the Leafs alive, it snapped a 54-year run of home playoff failures against the Bruins.

And so, again, a memo to Bruins coach Claude Julien: Don't crack jokes when you're asked legitimate questions about why the teams you've coached during your Boston tenure play lazy, dumb, uninspired hockey in non-Game 7 closeout games.

Boston Bruins' David Krejci keeps his eye on the puck while battling Toronto Maple Leafs' Tim Connolly during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Monday, March 19, 2012.

The Little Ball of Hate has become the Little Ball of Wait, as in when is Brad Marchand going to start playing the kind of hockey he's famous - or infamous - for? The Bruins got their only goal in Friday's 2-1 Game 5 loss to Toronto from Zdeno Chara on a feed from David Krejci, the NHL's scoring leader for the playoffs with 11 points.

The cliche in all sports goes that stars are born in the postseason. That only truly transcendent talents can reach high enough to propel their side to a championship, and those who fail simply don't have the "killer instinct" or "clutch gene." By now, most fans know that's poppycock.

In Game 2's 4-2 loss, the Bruins defensive struggled with new pairings with Andrew Ference out, serving a one-game suspension.

They've done a great job. We've found ways to win - we've blocked shots, we've taken our bumps and bruises like everybody else, and just gone about our business.