Resilient Leafs Get Star Performances From Best Players. Beat Bolts to Move to Second Round

At long, long last, the Toronto Maple Leafs exorcized the demons of playoffs past when they outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 of their first-round Stanley Cup series Saturday that pushed the Bolts into the off-season, and moved the Buds into the second round. And if you believe in the hockey gods, you have to stand back in awe of how perfect it all turned out for Toronto.

As we’ve said time and again, the Leafs were only going to go as far as their best players carried them. That absolutely was the case against the Lightning – not just in Game 6, but throughout the series. Toronto needed star winger Mitch Marner to deliver offense, and he did just that, generating a team-high nine assists and 11 points in six games. The Leafs needed superstar center Auston Matthews to be a difference-maker, and he amassed a team-best five goals – including Toronto’s only regulation-time goal in Game 6 – and nine points. The Leafs needed star winger Wlliam Nylander to do his part, and he had five assists and seven points against Tampa Bay. And the Leafs needed captain John Tavares to come through in the clutch, and in Game 6, he scored the game-and-series-winner to make history for his hometown team.

And just think, we haven’t even got to discuss Toronto’s defense yet. Cornerstone blueliner Morgan Rielly played some of the best hockey of his entire NHL career against the Bolts, posting three goals – including one game-winner – and eight points. Fellow veteran T.J. Brodie played nearly flawless defensive hockey while averaging 24:00 of ice time per game. And trade deadline acquisitions Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn were punishing physical force, with McCabe dishing out 32 hits, and Schenn connecting on 34 hits.

But that all would’ve been for naught without a key performance from goalie Ilya Samsonov. It’s true Samsonov wasn’t at his best in the entire series, as he put up a pedestrian .900 save percentage through six games. But you know who he was better than? Lightning star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, that’s who. Vasilevskiy was a major letdown for Tampa Bay, as he looked tired and not at all confident in himself, the way he was when he more or less beat Toronto singlehandedly in the 2022 post-season. Vasilevskiy finished the first round this year with an .875 SP, and, while he’s more than earned another kick at the can for the Bolts next season, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois has to use some of his team’s precious-little salary cap space to bring in a backup who can take some of the regular-season pressure off Vasilevskiy.

But let’s get back to the Leafs. They had their share of adversity in this series, with Tampa Bay often outplaying them for long stretches. But, unlike other Toronto lineups in recent years, this year’s Buds bent, but didn’t break. They won three OT games on the road, which is an astonishing feat. Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made some gutsy choices as the series unfolded, including scratching defenseman Justin Holl in Game 6, and going with 11 forwards and seven defenseman Saturday. The moves paid off. Yes, Toronto needed some puck luck, but they also put themselves in a winning position far more often than not, and their best players came through.

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The Leafs now await Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers to see who they’ll take on in Round 2 – and while most Toronto fans would rather their team face the Panthers, the Bruins have looked very human in allowing the series to go to a seventh and deciding game. If Toronto can minimize their mistakes the way they did in Game 6 Saturday, they’re going to be a tough out for anyone they square off against.

After so much disappointment over the years, it feels like a dream now for Leafs fans to experience the joy they’ve created in this series. Granted, it is only one series, and if they get swept in Round 2, there will be a bitter taste in their mouths. But Toronto has shown there is growth in their all-around game. They showed they do have a killer instinct. And they showed they’re worthy of being in the final group of eight teams still having a shot at winning a Cup.

In sum, they earned the laurels they’re getting now, and they’re intent on continuing to set themselves apart from Leafs teams of the past. And Toronto fans deserve a moment or two to bask in the glory of a hard-fought, extended battle against, and victory over, one of the best teams hockey has seen in the past four years.

The dream came true for once, and that’s something worth celebrating.