After forcing Game 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs undoubtedly disappointed their supporters.
I believe the majority of NHL fans believed the series would end quickly after the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in game 4 on Saturday, taking a dominating 3-1 series lead.
After all, the star-studded nucleus of the Leafs isn’t exactly renowned for their tenacity. Plus, winning in Boston is never simple.
However, the Leafs retaliated. Despite star forward Auston Matthews missing the game due to illness, they won game five thanks to a Matthew Knies overtime winner. That resulted in the series returning to Toronto.
And the Leafs repeated the feat on Thursday night. They prevailed 2-1, and they had a late 2-0 lead thanks to a fantastic pass from Knies to William Nylander, who had scored the two goals for Toronto. They succeeded without Matthews, who led the NHL in goals scored during the regular season with 69, once more.
With a 3-3 series lead, the Maple Leafs will travel to Boston on Saturday to play Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
This is hopefully good news! However, I have no doubt that Toronto supporters are extremely anxious going into this game that might decide their fate because they have a lot of scar tissue.
Toronto has suffered five consecutive Game 7 losses. It’s become a cliche to see Leafs supporters cry at the conclusion of a playoff series.
Including this season, the Leafs have qualified for the playoffs eight times in a row. The Maple Leafs have only triumphed in one series in the last seven years, that being last year’s 4-2 first-round triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Furthermore, their Stanley Cup drought, which dates back to 1967, is the longest in NHL history!
According to tradition, Toronto will thus suffer a heartbreak on Saturday night in