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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – When the Maple Leafs face the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday night, it will be the first such professional experience for the majority of Toronto’s young roster.

But the moment has been years in the making for most of them, dating back to well before the Leafs overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in the best-of-seven series to force a deciding Game 7 in Boston.

“When you’re a kid outside playing road hockey, it’s the seventh game and you’re scoring the winning goal in overtime; that’s just the way it was your whole life,” said coach Mike Babcock after a team meeting on Tuesday.

“Just the opportunity [if you win], you get to go on. I think there’s a lot on the line that way. We’d like to play in the next round and Boston wants to play in the next round so something’s got to give. We’re excited.”

It’s been 14 years since a Leafs team advanced to the second round of the postseason. Initially it didn’t look like these playoffs were going to break the spell, with the Leafs losing consecutive games by a combined score of 12-4 to open the series in Boston. Then they dropped one of their next two home games to be on the brink of elimination the rest of the way.

But getting to Game 7 was never a pipe dream to Toronto. Just like in their days pounding the tarmac, the Leafs kept visualizing the chance now before them, and what it would mean to have an opportunity to advance.

“You imagine [winning a series] during the summer, during the season and then you get to this point in the [playoffs] and you definitely draw from those thoughts,” said Morgan Rielly, who hasn’t played in a Game 7 since 2010 while in Midget AAA. “It makes you motivated and makes you want to go in there and play well. So it’s a big opportunity for a young group to do something special.”

The Leafs have become accustomed to big moments over the last five days, ever since they lost Game 4 and faced the scenario of having to run the table in order to meet Tampa Bay in the second round.

In many ways, it was a new team that emerged in the next two contests, one that could capitalize on its chances and protect one-goal leads in the third period while also holding the prolific scoring trio of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand (who had 20 combined points in the first two games of the series) off the scoresheet.

Despite the tumultuous nature of their run, playing desperate hockey has been good for the Leafs. While players were adamant their confidence in each other has never wavered, it took some time for that swagger to translate back into their game on the ice.

“Any time it’s not going your way, you’ve got to dig your way back,” said Babcock. “Because we had a foundation of confidence and thinking we were a good team, we were able to do that. Without that, you’d have just been done, so I think that’s positive. In saying that, she’s a brand new slate now."

“We’ve played with that [elimination] mentality for a bit now and we should be comfortable with it,” added Frederik Andersen, who has a .909 save percentage in the postseason. “But I don’t think there’s too much momentum going on in the playoffs like this. The last two games we did a good job of executing with defensive breakouts right away and that allowed us to feel confident. We want to focus on the process and what we can control without worrying about the end result."

One thing not zapping the Leafs’ optimism is Toronto’s infamous Game 7 overtime loss in Boston five years ago. There are few parallels to draw between that roster and the lineup that will take the ice on Wednesday, but there are other factors of this series stacking up the same way. That’s not stirring any demons for the Leafs, though.

“In both scenarios, we’ve been down 3-1 and come back,” said Jake Gardiner, one of five remaining Leafs who played in the 2013 series. “But we just have fun with it. We’re not thinking specifically about [a past] with Boston. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and you have to beat everybody. The pressure is kind of off us. Just relax, treat it like another game, and ultimately you’ll be ready.”