Toronto Maple Leafs' Nazem Kadri takes to the ice for a practice session in Toronto on Saturday. The Leafs stayed at a downtown Toronto hotel ahead of their game on Sunday against the Bruins. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)
Three storylines for Game 6 of the Maple Leafs-Bruins first-round series on Sunday night in Toronto (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET for pregame show). Boston leads the series 3-2.
1. Can the Maple Leafs finally win at home to give their long-suffering fans their first postseason win at home in more than nine years?
There was a time when Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle was concerned about the way his team performed at home. They lacked confidence and simply could not relax.
But the Maple Leafs were much better at the Air Canada Centre as the regular season progressed. They managed a 13-9-2 record at home, one point less than their 13-8-3 record on the road.
Of course, the Maple Leafs haven't won a postseason game at home since Mats Sundin scored twice in a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on April 30, 2004.
This current Maple Leafs team has been awed by the buzz around the city and the wild and crazy scene outside the ACC at Maple Leaf Square. They have watched video of the fans outside for inspiration. They gathered around to watch a replay of the reaction in chilly and rainy conditions in Maple Leaf Square when they won the other night in Boston.
"Certainly, we're feeding off the energy in our building and the city," Maple Leafs veteran Joffrey Lupul said.
For the first time in this playoff run, the Maple Leafs stayed together in a downtown hotel on Saturday. It will be interesting to see which team has the momentum on Sunday. The Maple Leafs were victorious in Game 5, but the Bruins dominated in the third period and may have that effort to build off.
"I guess you could say there is a case that both teams have momentum," Lupul said.
"We're not going to expect anything other than Boston's best, and I'm sure it'll come early and it'll come often," Carlyle added.
2. Can the Maple Leafs take advantage of a tuckered out Bruins team?
Championship teams like the Bruins, 23 months removed from their 2010-11 Stanley Cup title, always seem to have another gear. But does this Bruins club have anything left in the tank?
Because of the way the lockout shortened schedule played out, the Bruins were by far the busiest team after the first quarter. They played 34 games in final 64 days of the regular season. Because of the Boston Marathon bombings, that postponed two games, the Bruins also were forced to play six games in the final nine days of the regular season.
They certainly didn't appear to be a tired club with the way the Bruins dominated the third period on Friday. But will there be an emotional letdown now that the series has been extended back to Toronto?
The Bruins may get back veteran defenceman Wade Redden from his undisclosed injury that caused him to miss Game 5. He has been good for the Bruins and has helped on Boston's second power-play unit.
They will be without Andrew Ference, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and did not make the trip to Toronto.
3. Can the Maple Leafs continue to hold at bay the Bruins line of Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand?
The Bruins highest-scoring line in the regular season has struggled in this series. In five games, they have only a Patrice Bergeron power-play goal in Game 4 that neither Marchand nor Seguin was on the ice for.
Seguin especially has some heat to produce. Of course, he was the first, first-round pick used in the Phil Kessel trade. The 21-year-old Seguin has enjoyed quite a bit of success for Boston against Toronto with 10 goals in 16 regular-season games.
But he has yet to check in for a goal in this series despite the fact he leads the Bruins with 24 shots on goal, two more than Bergeron.
Projected lines, defence pairings for Game 6
Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul -- Tyler Bozak -- Matt Frattin
James van Riemsdyk -- Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Clarke MacArthur -- Nazem Kadri - Phil Kessel
Leo Komarov -- Jay McClement -- Colton Orr
Carl Gunnarsson -- Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner - Cody Franson
John-Michael Liles - Ryan O'Byrne
Starting goalie: James Reimer
Bruins
Milan Lucic -- David Krejci -- Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Tyler Seguin
Rich Peverley -- Chris Kelly -- Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille -- Gregory Campbell -- Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara -- Dennis Seidenberg
Aaron Johnson -- Johnny Boychuk
Wade Redden -- Adam McQuaid
Starting goalie: Tuukka Rask
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
