Toronto Maple Leafs Surely Set Fans Up For Disappointment After Forcing Game 7.
When the Boston Bruins took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs after a game 4 win in Toronto on Saturday, I think most NHL fans thought the series would soon be over.
After all, the Leafs star-studded core is not exactly known for their resilience. Plus, it’s never easy to win in Boston.
But, the Leafs fought back. They won game 5 on a Matthew Knies overtime winner, despite star forward Auston Matthews missing the game with illness. That brought the series back to Toronto.
And, on Thursday night, the Leafs did it again. They won 2-1, and they took a late 2-0 lead on an awesome assist by Knies to William Nylander, who scored both Toronto goals. They once again did it without Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals in the regular season.
So, the Maple Leafs have evened up the series, 3-3, and are heading to Boston on Saturday for Game 7 of their first-round Eastern Conference series.
This should be good news! But, I’m sure Toronto fans have a lot of scar tissue that is making them quite nervous heading into this do-or-die game.
Toronto has lost their last FIVE game 7’s. At this point, Leafs fans getting their hearts crushed at the end of a playoff series is a meme.
The Leafs have made the playoffs eight years in a row, counting this season. In those past seven years, the Maple Leafs have won just one series, a 4-2 victory in the first round over the Tampa Bay Lightning last year. And, they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the longest drought in NHL history!
So, history tells us that Toronto will get its heart broken on Saturday night in Boston. For the sake of their fans, I hope that doesn’t happen.
