The Boston Bruins are no strangers to Game 7

BOSTON -- The sky is blue, water is wet, and the Boston Bruins will be playing in a Game 7. So it goes.

Despite taking a 3-1 series lead over the Maple Leafs just over a week ago, the Bruins have now lost two straight to set up Saturday night's Game 7 back in Boston. But this is nothing new for the Boston Bruins.

While most believe that there are no better words in sports than "Game 7," the Bruins would probably argue otherwise. It's not that they're bad in these winner takes it all showdowns, they're probably just a little sick of facing these high-pressure tilts year after year after year.

Saturday night will be the 31st time in franchise history that the Bruins will take the ice for a Game 7, adding to the team's NHL record. Half of their Game 7's have come in the last 15 years, and Saturday night will mark the third straight postseason the Bruins find themselves in a do-or-die situation.

At least Bruins fans are seasoned veterans when it comes to this drill. There is no better fanbase prepared for the long, anxious wait for Saturday's 8 p.m. puck drop, and the joy or mental anguish that lies ahead. This marks the second straight postseason that the Bruins will need a Game 7 after going up 3-1 in the opening round, so Boston fans are battle tested.

Will Boston get to experience the raucous party that follows a Game 7 victory on Saturday night, or will Bruins fans have another scar to heal? 

What's the Bruins' record in Game 7's?

What's really wild about this Game 7 is that it's truly anyone's game, no matter how you slice it. 

In their 30 previous Game 7's, the Bruins won 15 of them and lost 15 of them. And per the NHL, the Maple Leafs are now the 65th team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-1 in the series. In those previous instances, the trailing team won 32 times, while the team that led has also won 32 times.

The perfect balance of each of those statistics is about to be thrown askew.

Getting back to the Bruins, Boston fans probably don't need a reminder of what happened last postseason against the Florida Panthers. But here we go anyways, because history could be repeating itself.

Against the Panthers, the Presidents' Trophy winners let a 3-1 series lead slip away to set up a Game 7 at TD Garden. And then they let a 3-2 lead slip away in that game before losing in overtime on a Carter Verhaeghe goal.

Two years ago, the Bruins were the ones forcing a Game 7, winning Game 6 at home against the Hurricanes to force a deciding game back in Carolina. The Canes won that 3-2 to end Boston's season.

At least 2019 and 2018 were much better for Boston, as was 2013, and we'll get to those years in a second. But the B's also lost a Game 7 to the Canadiens in 2014 and 2008, in 2012 to Washington, in 2009 to Carolina, and in 2010 to Philadelphia, the latter of which came after Boston jumped out to a 3-0 series lead.

So the recent history of Game 7 has been a little rough for Boston. But at least one year was truly spectacular, if not a little nerve-wracking.

The 2011 Stanley Cup champion Bruins won three Game 7's en route to their title, getting the better of Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Vancouver -- in the Cup Final, in Vancouver --  to capture that incredible trophy. 

Need a little more positivity and good juju? Maybe the Maple Leafs can help with that.

Bruins-Maple Leafs Game 7 history

While the Bruins have given everyone plenty of reasons to fret about Saturday night's Game 7, let's not forget about the team on the other side. If anyone can out-Bruin the Bruins, it's the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs didn't win a playoff series for two decades until last season, and the Bruins were a big part of that drought. The two teams played three win-or-go-home Game 7's in the last 11 postseasons, and the Bruins won all three.

The 2013 Bruins-Leafs series is an all-timer, and Game 7 of that set is one of the best Boston fans will live through. The Leafs jumped out to a 4-1 lead at TD Garden, only for the Bruins to come storming back to force overtime. Patrice Bergeron ended it just six minutes into the extra frame to send Boston onto the next round, and the B's made it all the way to the Cup Final that season.

That incredible Game 7 victory came after the Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead.

The B's and Leafs also needed a Game 7 to decide their playoff series in 2018 and 2019, and the Bruins won both of those too. They also let a 3-1 series led slip away in 2018, but bounced back to win Game 7 at home, 7-4.

In their three previous Game 7 matchups, the Bruins have outscored the Leafs 17-9. Boston and Toronto are now the first franchises in NHL history to require a Game 7 in four straight head-to-head matchups in the playoffs. 

The Bruins and Leafs have played five Game 7's against each other, and the Leafs have won just one: Back in 1959. The Bruins also got the best of the Leafs in a Game 7 in 1941.

But as hockey fans know, nothing but the present matters in a Game 7.

What the Bruins are saying about another Game 7

This whole Game 7 thing is getting irritating to anyone who wanted a stress-free first round. But we should have known better. This is the NHL playoffs, and more succinctly, this is the Boston Bruins. This is kind of their thing.

The team has looked tight on the ice in the last two games, with Toronto's defense suddenly becoming a suffocating unit and blocking 35 shots in their two straight victories. The Bruins have scored just two goals in their last seven periods of hockey (plus a few minutes of overtime) and one of those goals came with less than a second left on the clock Thursday night.

After their 2-1 loss in Toronto, the Bruins said their focus is on Saturday -- not on anything that has led up to this point.

"We're not worrying about it," said coach Jim Montgomery. "We're not living in the past, we're not living in the future either. We're living in the present. Right now we're not happy with our game, but we've got to get ready for Game 7."

"I could care less how it unfolded," B's captain Brad Marchand said of the team's road map to Game 7. "We're here and it's an opportunity. We've got to be grateful for it. These are the moments you dream about as a kid. Game 7. That's where heroes are built and made. We got to be excited about the position we're in and make the most of it."

The pressure is really on the Bruins though. With a loss on Saturday, they'd become the first team in NHL, NBA, or MLB history to blow 3-1 series leads in back-to-back postseasons.

The bottom line is if the Bruins win one more game, they're on to the second round. If not, their season is over. That's what it all boils down to on Saturday night.

We've been here before, and chances are we'll be here again. Buckle up, because Saturday night is going to be another emotional roller coaster in Boston.