Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 10 Meaningful Goals of the Decade

By Alex Hobson | Dec 31, 2019

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 12: Playing in his NHL debut, Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his first career NHL hat trick against the Ottawa Senators with teammates at the players"u2019 bench at Canadian Tire Centre during the season opener on October 12, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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TORONTO, ON – APRIL 8: Connor Brown /

#6 – Connor Brown Scores GWG to Help Clinch Playoff Spot – April 8th, 2017

For the sixth goal on this list, we’re going to revisit the same game that featured Auston Matthews’ 40th marker.

This game against the Penguins was adrenaline pumping, to say the least.

A win would send them to the playoffs with their revamped core only a year after finishing dead last.

And the game came in exciting fashion. Down 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the third period, Kasperi Kapanen would score his first NHL goal against the team that drafted him.

And then came this goal.

Jake Gardiner receives the puck at the point, and with 2:48 remaining in the game, Connor Brown would tip Gardiner’s shot home to give the Leafs the lead and ultimately send them to the playoffs.

The Leafs’ rebuild was the centrepiece of many stories over the years, and the playoff clinch meant the world to the team and it’s fans at the time.

And for someone like Connor Brown, who grew up in Toronto and a Leafs fan, scoring the goal to help your childhood team to the playoffs is a timeless memory.

And you can see his excitement following the goal.

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