Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Moments from 2017-18

The 2017-18 season was a historical one for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To say that there were a lot of memorable moments from the Toronto Maple Leafs campaign last year would be an understatement.

From the dominating performance on Opening Night against the Winnipeg Jets, to the 100^th Anniversary afternoon classic against the Carolina Hurricanes, the list of moments that stood out from last year is long and impressive. With all these great moments, it’s no wonder the Leafs were able to reach new heights during the regular season.

It’s also tough to limit all of these choices down to five since some great moments will definitely be left off the list.  Regardless, I decided to give it a try and offer what I believe to be the best moments from the 2017-18 season.

So with the next campaign just weeks away, let’s reflect back on the highlights of last year.

Honorable Mentions

With so many great moments to choose from, it was hard to decide which would make the top 5.  Here are some that just missed the cut, but deserve some recognition:

• Kris Russell own-goal gives the Leafs an unlikely win
• Leafs steamroll the Jets 7-2 on Opening Night
• Mitch Marner’s toe-drag goal vs. the Senators
• Frederik Andersen’s stick save on David Pastrnak
• Kasperi Kapanen’s shorthanded goals vs. Nashville and Boston
• Auston Matthews smiling after his 2nd goal of the game vs. Montreal

#5 – Travis Dermott and Justin Holl’s first NHL goals

The first meeting between the Leafs and the New York Islanders proved to be a dominating performance by Toronto as they cruised to a 5-0 win. Looking at the box score for this game, it’s clear that the Buds were simply the better team for the entire 60 minutes.

While the game itself was fun for Leafs fans to watch, what makes it stand out are the first NHL goals for Travis Dermott and Justin Holl.

The first one from Dermott saw him strip Matt Barzal of the puck while attempting to exit the zone and force a turnover. He quickly darted towards the goal to position himself for a pass from William Nylander. Once the puck came his way, Dermott simply redirected the puck past Thomas Griess and extended the lead to 4-0.

In the third period, Holl got a great stretch pass from Auston Matthews and was able to skate through some open space along the boards. With little resistance, Holl was able to reach the right faceoff circle and fired a shot that trickled through Griess’ legs to get his first career tally.

What made these goals extra memorable was the reaction of both Dermott and Holl’s dads who were in the stands watching the game.

#3 – The Afternoon Game

The Next Century Game will be remembered for a few reasons. For starters, the odd start time of  2:00 p.m. EST, the anniversary of the first game played in NHL history, and, of course, the final score.

Heading into this game, the Leafs were struggling to find the back of the net for four straight games with a combined 4 goals and a 1-3 record. It was clear at the time that Toronto was due for some goals and man, did they break out of their slump in a big way.

Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner each had a four-point game while Leo Komarov scored the Leafs’ first short-handed goal of that season. One of the goals, scored by James van Riemsdyk, was actually the 20,000th goal scored in the history of the Leafs.

The floodgates sprung wide open in the third period when Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen scored their goals 6-seconds apart. To top it all off, the final score of 8-1(!) helped cement this game as one of the highlights of the season.

As someone who was lucky enough to be in attendance at this game, I have a personal attachment to this game that will remain with me for quite a long time.

#2 – Auston Matthews OT goal snaps the skid vs. the Habs

Prior to this contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs had been in the midst of a 14 game losing skid to Montreal according to mCubed.net. During this stretch of over three-years, it seemed the Canadiens always had Toronto’s number regardless of how both teams were doing.

All of that changed in their first matchup of the 2017-18 season, but the journey to snapping the skid proved to be an exciting affair. The back-and-forth contest was highlighted by two plays from Matthews.

The first came in the first period where he deflected a clearing attempt from Jordie Benn onto his stick before streaking down the ice to score a beautiful goal. In fact, the goal was so great to look at even the Leafs bench were in awe as seen in this clip from Justin Bourne.

The second play, as seen in the video above, sees Andersen make a huge save and leaves a rebound for Nylander to take the other way. Both Nylander and Matthews had enough energy to skate down the ice and in quick succession, Nylander sent Matthews a cross-ice pass that he knocked out of the air and fired past Carey Price for the overtime winner.

With this being early in the season, having Matthews make the highlight reel twice in the same night made it one of the early best moments of the season. Snapping the skid on a night like that was just the icing on the cake.

#1 – “Good Goal” Celebration

Since Matthews was drafted by the Leafs in 2016, he has quickly made a lot of memorable moments that many fans will surely look back on fondly. This particular moment during a game against the Colorado Avalanche will likely remain with him for the rest of his career.

For those who don’t remember, here’s a brief explanation to understand the context. Earlier in the game, Matthews was in the crease trying to bank in a shot in tight past goalie Jonathan Bernier (!) to take the lead.

Unfortunately for him, the play was called back due to a controversial call that resulted in the goal being disallowed because of goalie interference. Regardless of whether the call was right or not, the replay showed that Matthews wasn’t too pleased to have his goal turned back.

Minutes later on his next shift, Nylander streaked into the zone and fired a weak shot that Bernier redirected from the goal. The only problem was that Matthews was inches from where the puck went and we proceeded to fire it into the empty cage before signaling a “good goal” in celebration.

It was this moment that demonstrated to the hockey world just how special a player Matthews truly is. After being denied of a goal by a controversial call, he quickly got a second chance and responded with authority that he would not be denied.

The celebration itself was further cemented a few days later at the All-Star Game in Tampa Bay where Jack Eichel did the “good goal” celebration himself after scoring with Matthews on the ice. Putting all of this together and it became clear that this play had to be the #1 Leaf moment from last season.

Do you agree with my selections? Was there a moment I didn’t mention that should have made the list? Let me know in the comments down below.

Thanks for reading!