Bruins' David Pastrnak beats Maple Leafs in OT of Game 7 after being challenged by coach

Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said after a Game 6 loss that he needed star David Pastrnak to step up.

He did.

Pastrnak scored at 1:54 of overtime on Saturday night and Jeremy Swayman was spectacular in net as the Bruins rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7.

"I believed that he was going to step up. I saw a smile on his face this morning. He said, 'What's up coach, you sleep well?' and I knew he was going to be great tonight," Montgomery told NESN about Pastrnak. "And he was. It was just a matter of time."

The Bruins, who had led the series 3-1 before losing two in a row, avoided an unprecedented second consecutive playoff collapse. Now they’ll get a chance to try to redeem themselves in the second round against the Florida Panthers, who stunned the Bruins last season.

Had it lost, Boston would have been the first team in the NHL, NBA or MLB to blow a 3-1 playoff series lead in back-to-back seasons. The Panthers overcame a 3-1 series deficit last season to stun the Bruins in the first round.

Toronto has lost six consecutive Game 7s, including four against the Bruins.

The Maple Leafs had major lineup changes in Game 7. NHL leading goal scorer Auston Matthews (injury/illness) returned for the first time since Game 4. He assisted on William Nylander’s opening goal.

Goalie Ilya Samsonov was pressed into action for the first time since Game 4 when Joseph Woll (who won Games 5 and 6) was unable to dress. The Leafs said Woll suffered an injury late in Game 6.

But Samsonov was solid, making 29 saves in a goalie battle with Swayman (30 saves). Samsonov had 11 saves in the first period as Boston started strongly after combining for three shots in the first periods of Games 5 and 6.

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm tied the game in the third period, 81 seconds after Nylander had given the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead.

"That's the team we are," Lindholm told reporters. "During this whole series, there's been a lot of ups and downs but we've shown resilience."

What's next for the Boston Bruins?

They open their second-round series at the Panthers on Monday. The Bruins went 4-0 in the season series with two of the games going to overtime.

What's next for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

They had strong performances in Games 5-7 while facing elimination. Does that mean they hold on to coach Sheldon Keefe? Do they keep the Core Four of Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares together? Marner and Tavares enter the final year of their contracts next season.

"We came up short here tonight," Keefe, who's under contract through 2025-26, told reporters. "But there's reasons for me to believe that this team will win."

Samsonov is an unrestricted free agent this summer. They could choose to let him go to market with the emergence of Woll. Other unrestricted free agents include Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Joel Edmundson, T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak beat Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 OT