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Julien on Leafs’ collapse: ‘I know they’ll grow from that’

Zdeno Chara, Dion Phaneuf

BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins shakes hands with Dion Phaneuf #3 of the Toronto Maple Leafs after Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 13, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs were left stunned after dropping a 4-1 lead late in Game 7.

The Boston Bruins have earned the right to celebrate after the spectacular comeback they managed tonight, but Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien wanted to take a moment to praise his fallen adversaries.

“You can’t walk away from here without giving the other team credit,” Julien said, according to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. “They had us on the ropes... I know they’ll grow from that.”

Julien speaks from experience when he says that. The Boston Bruins have lost more than their fair share of Game 7s over the past few years, including their 2010 collapse to the Philadelphia Flyers after taking a 3-0 series lead.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ fall might not be historic like that Bruins-Flyers series, but that’s probably not much of a consolation for the young Leafs.

“We’re glad we got rid of them because they just kept getting better and better,” Julien noted.

So maybe there’s a silver lining for the Maple Leafs, even if they likely don’t want to think about that right now.