Breaking news: Jeremy Swayman has been suspended for 8month from the team of Boston Bruins today due to…….Read More..

With the Boston Bruins’ season on the brink and the team’s top scorer mired in a scoring slump, coach Jim Montgomery didn’t hesitate to publicly challenge David Pastrnak to do more in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It helped bring out some of his best hockey at the perfect moment.

Pastrnak scored on a feed from Hampus Lindholm 1:54 into overtime and the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night to clinch their first-round series and advance in the NHL playoffs.

“He’s trying to bring the best out of every single player. He expects more,” Pastrnak said. “I admitted I needed to be better.”

It was redemption for Pastrnak, who entered the night with two goals and two assists through the first six games.

“I thought he was dynamic tonight,” Montgomery said.

Jeremy Swayman finished with 30 saves and Lindholm had the tying goal in regulation to help the Bruins avoid losing their second straight first-round series after holding a 3-1 lead. They have now defeated the rival Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs three times in the last seven years.

Boston will meet the Florida Panthers, who upset the Bruins in seven games in the first round last year and spoiled a season in which they posted NHL records for the most wins and points in a season. Game 1 is set for Monday night in Florida. The Panthers have been resting since Tuesday, when they eliminated Tampa Bay in five games.

William Nylander scored and Auston Matthews had an assist in his return from a two-game absence for the Maple Leafs, who are now 0-6 in Game 7s since the 2013 conference quarterfinals. They are 0-4 on the road in those games – all in Boston. Matthews missed Games 5 and 6 with an undisclosed ailment.