The Boston Bruins fell 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series, which puts them in a very similar situation as last year.

In the words of Olivia Rodrigo: “Do you get Deja Vu?”

For the second year in a row, the Boston Bruins took a 3-1 series lead in the first round after splitting the first two games at home and winning the next two on the road. For the second year in a row, the Bruins dropped Games 5 and 6 and allowed their opponent to force Game 7.

This time, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs that defeated the Bruins 2-1 in Game 6 on Thursday, just two days after a 2-1 overtime win in Game 5 at TD Garden. Last year, the Florida Panthers completed the comeback with a Game 7 win to shock the Bruins.

“We got much better as the game went on,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak told reporters in Toronto. “We need to be much better at the start, that’s for sure, in our next game.”

William Nylander scored both goals for Toronto, while Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll made 22 saves and kept Boston off the board for 59:59.9 of the game. Nylander broke a goal drought going back to March 26. He missed the first three games of the series with an undisclosed injury. It was Toronto’s second game in a row without Auston Matthews, who had been dealing with an illness.

Morgan Geekie scored the meaningless goal at the end of the game for Boston, and Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves in another valiant, yet losing, effort. Aside from Geekie, the rest of the Bruins’ top six forwards were held without a point for the second game in a row.

“Your best players need to be your best players this time of year,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told reporters in Toronto. “I think the effort is tremendous, and they need to come through with some big-time plays and big-time moments. [Brad] Marchand has done that in the series; [Pastrnak] needs to step up.”

Much like Game 5, the Bruins got through the first period tied despite a huge disparity in shot production in favor of Toronto. The Maple Leafs outshot Boston 11-2 in the first period on Tuesday and followed it up with a 12-1 advantage on Thursday.

“They’ve started well every game. They are prepared to play first shift and we need to be better in that area,” Marchand told reporters in Toronto. “I think we had maybe one game where we started as good or better than them, so last couple games they’ve started really hard and kind of carried the momentum through the first period, so we have to do a much better job there.”

Still, neither team managed to score until Nylander broke through with 55 seconds left in the second period, rifling the puck through traffic from the right side of the zone.

Charlie McAvoy icing the puck set up the Leafs with the offensive zone face-off preceding the goal. The officials also did not call Pontus Holmberg’s hit from behind on Mason Lohrei right before the play.

The Bruins were forced to chase into the third period, and despite picking up their game compared to the first period, Woll was up to the task to maintain the lead.

Nylander delivered the dagger off the rush following another Bruins push. Lohrei tried to keep the puck in the offensive zone at the left point, but lost track of it after it hit off his body. Nylander pushed the puck up to the red line, where Matthew Knies beat McAvoy and sprung Nylander for a breakaway. The 28-year-old forward tucked the puck through Swayman’s five-hole to make it 2-0 with just 2:13 remaining in regulation.

Geekie knocked in a loose puck with 0.1 seconds left to spoil Woll’s shutout, but it was too little, too late for Boston, which will keep fighting its demons from last year’s blown series lead.

“I think we all understand that in playoffs, every game is a Game 7,” Swayman told reporters in Toronto. “That’s the intensity that we want to bring every night, and when we do get to an actual Game 7, it should be another day in the office for us.”

It’s the fourth playoff meeting in a row that will go to Game 7 between Toronto and Boston, with the first three coming in 2013, 2018 and 2019. Boston won all three series, but the Maple Leafs will come into TD Garden with momentum.

Other Links:

How Bruins Can Flip Script From Last Year, End Series in Game 6

Patience Pays Off For Bruins Rookie

Bruins Captain Steps Up, Earns 2-1 Series Lead Against Toronto