Bruins pull away for Game 7 win over Leafs

Jake DeBrusk's go-ahead goal with 14:35 remaining in the third period led the host Boston Bruins to a 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.

DeBrusk scored two goals and David Pastrnak added one, giving them a share of the team playoff lead with five. Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists while Pastrnak and Brad Marchand each had a goal and an assist. Danton Heinen and Torey Krug also scored for the Bruins.

Boston, which earned its first playoff series victory since the 2013-14 season, will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Patrick Marleau had two goals, giving him a team-best four playoff goals. Travis Dermott and Kasperi Kapanen each scored his first of the postseason for Toronto, which forced a decisive seventh game with back-to-back wins after falling into a 3-1 series hole.

The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2003-04.

Boston goalie Tuukka Rask finished with 20 saves and improved to 2-2 all-time in Game 7s. Frederik Andersen made 29 saves for Toronto.

DeBrusk skated end-to-end for his decisive third-period goal, finding Andersen's five-hole.

Pastrnak made it a 6-4 game on his goal at 11:39 of the third. Marchand scored an empty-netter with 50.9 seconds left.

Marleau's first goal with 17:55 left in the first period gave Toronto a 1-0 lead before Boston tied it on DeBrusk's first goal with 15:13 to go in the first.

Marleau's second tally at 6:12 of the first made it 2-1 before Heinen (at 9:10) and Bergeron (at 19:23) scored to put the Bruins up 3-2 after one.

Dermott scored 2:07 into the second and Kapanen struck at 6:05 of the second to restore a one-goal lead for Toronto.

Krug's goal tied the game at 4 just 1:10 into the third.

Toronto's Morgan Rielly left the ice with a bloody face in the first period after being hit by a Zdeno Chara slap shot, but he returned in the second. Boston's Adam McQuaid exited in the second after spinning into the boards, but he also returned.

Leo Komarov (lower-body injury) missed his fifth straight game for the Maple Leafs.

--Field Level Media