Rielly, who has played in each of Toronto's past five series-deciding games, said the team is not devoting any attention to prior failures.
"The belief is high, I don't think you lose that," Rielly said. "We believe in our group, and we've been happy with what we've been able to do the last couple of games. The belief is high. We're not thinking about previous Game 7's."
The Maple Leafs had two outstanding defensive efforts in Games 5 and 6, outshooting the Bruins by a combined 23-3 margin in the first periods in those two games. They got timely scoring with an overtime goal from Matthew Knies and Game 5, and two from William Nylander in Game 6, the first coming with 55 seconds left in the second period to make it 1-0 and the second with 2:13 remaining in the third period to push it to 2-0.
"Certainly, we've accomplished something, we feel good about it because we've got ourselves to this point but all we've done is dig ourselves out of a hole we've created for ourselves and now the real test comes in," Keefe said "...I'm excited for our guys. The reality is, we haven't accomplished nearly what we've set out to do, the greatest challenge lies ahead and the guys will be ready for it."
The Maple Leafs have also lost each of their past six Game 7s on the road, the last win coming in 1993 against the Detroit Red Wings in the Division Semifinals.
"We were happy," defenseman Timothy Liljegren said. "We were happy with the effort we put in (in Game 6) but we know we have to do it again tomorrow so that's what we're looking to do."
The power play, however, continues to hamper the Maple Leafs, having gone 1-for-20 in the series, including managing two shots on a double-minor for high sticking to David Pastrnak in Game 6. During the regular season, Toronto ranked seventh on the power play at 24 percent.
"No better time than for [the power play to come through] to happen in Game 7," Keefe said. "You talk about moments, the power play can come through for us in a situation like this, we will very quickly forget about what's happened beforehand."
While there is tremendous pressure in playing a Game 7, Nylander took his usual light-hearted approach when asked about the challenge after Game 6.
"It's special, I don't know if we have won one yet, so we have to be up to the test," Nylander said.
Part of that test will be facing a desperate Bruins team, who for the second straight season, will play a Game 7 at home after squandering a 3-1 lead in the first round. The Florida Panthers completed the comeback in 2023, winning Game 7, 4-3 in overtime. Toronto has lost its past three Game 7s against Boston (2013, 2018, 2019) but if they can match the feat of Florida last season, a date with the Panthers awaits them in the Eastern Conference Second Round in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday.
"It's what you think about when you are younger," Rielly said. "It has all the pressure of your season riding on it. You come together as a group, and you just want to perform for one another. It's challenging to deal with the mental approach, but I think there's beauty in that, it can be a lot of fun."
