Maple Leafs edge Bruins, 2-1, to force Game 7

Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula each had a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings finished off the host Anaheim Ducks with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 last night night.

Justin Abdelkader scored a shorthanded goal and Jimmy Howard made 31 saves as the seventh-seeded Red Wings won three of the first-round series' final four games to oust the Ducks, who had the NHL's third-best record in the regular season.

Detroit faces top-seeded Chicago in the second round.

Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored and Jonas Hiller stopped 29 shots for the Ducks, who failed to win their first playoff series since 2009 despite home-ice advantage.

After the clubs played four overtimes in the series' first six games, the Red Wings largely dominated the anti-climactic clincher.

Maple Leafs 2, Bruins 1: Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel scored third-period goals and host Toronto evened the series at three games apiece. Game 7 is tonight in Boston.

Not only did the win keep the Leafs alive, it snapped a 54-year run of home playoff failures against the Bruins.

Toronto's previous home playoff win against Boston was March 31, 1959, when the Leafs won, 3-2, in overtime. Nine straight postseason home losses followed in the decades since.

Milan Lucic scored for Boston with 26 seconds left in the third period.

The only time Toronto has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series was the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs trailed 3-0 in that series before reeling off four straight wins.

Toronto's last Game 7 win was in 2004 -- the last time the Leafs made the playoffs -- when it beat Ottawa, 4-1, to wrap up a first-round series.

The Maple Leafs have momentum after two straight wins. James Reimer made 29 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Tuukka Rask made 24 saves for Boston, which outshot the Maple Leafs 30-26.

-- AP