The Boston Bruins avoided disaster Saturday night, winning Game 7 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2-1 overtime victory is credited, at least from prominent members of the Bruins, to goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who received extensive praise from head coach Jim Montgomery and right winger David Pastrnak.

After the win, during which Swayman denied 30 of 31 shots on goal in a more than 60-minute performance, Montgomery proclaimed Swayman the Bruins’ unequivocally best player of the first round.

“He was our best player in the series and it’s not close,” Montgomery said (via Sean McAdam of MassLive). “I think that his confidence and his swagger permeated through the group. It took a while, but we got there.”

Pastrnak, who scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime, echoed much of Montgomery’s sentiments.

“Personally, there was no doubt in him,” Pastrnak said. “From the group, there was a lot of belief. I’m proud of him, the way he bounced back. In every single game of the series, he gave us a chance to win. It was the same way with Linus [Ullmark] when he played. Both of our goalies gave us a chance to win every single game and that gives the group a lot of confidence.”

In the six games he played during the series, Swayman went 4-2 and did not allow more than two goals in any game. For the series, he posted a 1.49 goals against average (GAA) and 95.0% save percentage.

“I just wanted to battle and do my job and enjoy the fruits of Game 7 overtime,” Swayman said. “When you say it out loud, it’s like a ‘pinch yourself’ thing. I’m just so grateful to get this opportunity and to do it with this group and this team. It’s a dream come true.

“I think the biggest thing was just excited and enjoying the moment. You’re in Game 7, overtime in home. It’s stuff that you dream of as a kid and that we can all get up for and be really excited about. But my mindset was just, one shot at a time, doing my job and enjoying the process. And I think that allowed me to really get involved in the game and have a good time doing it.”

Bruins eliminate Maple Leafs after nearly blowing 3-1 lead

While Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins celebrated their Game 7 victory, the celebration was likely a release of even more relief than most Game 7s. The Bruins, after all, blew a 3-1 lead against the Florida Panthers last season after a historic Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season, and heading into Saturday night, Boston was on the verge of another postseason collapse.

The Bruins took a commanding 3-1 lead with a convincing win in Game 4, and to that point, had outscored Toronto 14-7 in the series. But just like last year, the Bruins missed an opportunity to close out the series in five at home before dropping Game 6 on the road. In Game 7, both teams waited until the third period to score, with the Maple Leafs’ William Nylander breaking the scoreless tie nearly halfway through the period. Hampus Lindholm responded just over a minute later to knot the game up at one, where it stayed for the rest of regulation.

David Pastrnak’s quick goal in overtime ensured the Bruins would not repeat the same fate as last year, and the goal also ensured the Maple Leafs would be exiting the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. With the loss, Toronto has now lost six consecutive Game 7s and has just one playoff series victory (last year vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning) in the last 20 years.

The Bruins will have little time to rest, as they will try to avenge last season’s first-round loss against the Florida Panthers starting with Game 1 tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.