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Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 3 Battle of Ontario Playoff Games

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - MAY 14 : Curtis Joseph of the Toronto Maple Leafs and his teammate, right wing Tie Domi #28, celebrate during game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 14, 2002. The Maple Leafs won 3-0. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 14 : Curtis Joseph of the Toronto Maple Leafs and his teammate, right wing Tie Domi #28, celebrate during game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 14, 2002. The Maple Leafs won 3-0. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI) /
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TORONTO – MAY 14: Patrick Lalime #40 of the Ottawa Senators sits dejected in his crease after letting in Alexander Mogilnys (not pictured) shot.(Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
TORONTO – MAY 14: Patrick Lalime #40 of the Ottawa Senators sits dejected in his crease after letting in Alexander Mogilnys (not pictured) shot.(Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI) /

#2. 2002 Eastern Conference Semi-Final, Game 6 (Leafs Win 4-3)

On the brink of elimination the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to win Game 6 on the road in order to force Game 7 in Toronto.

The Leafs two wins thus far in the series were only one-goal victories, including an over-time thriller, whereas Ottawa had a plus-six goal advantage in five games on the Leafs.

In 2002, the Leafs had already beaten the Senators in back-to-back playoff series, so this was revenge for the Senators. With a game at home to finally beat the Leafs, you know they wanted this win more than anything in the world.

Early into the first period, things were not looking good for Leafs fans.

A young Marian Hossa and Daniel Alfredsson scored within the first five minutes to give Ottawa an early 2-0 lead.

But fortunately for the Leafs, they know a thing or two about beating Ottawa in a playoff game, so they pulled their boots up high and scored two goals themselves to tie the game 2-2 after the first period.

In the second period, Gary Roberts scored for Toronto and Todd White for Ottawa, so we stayed tied heading into the third.

With the game tied and the season on the line, the Leafs made sure they weren’t going to lose to Ottawa in a playoff series for their first time in history.

As he did so many times in his career, Alex Mogilny scored the game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs in the third period, securing the victory for Toronto.

This game will always be remembered because it led to the Toronto Maple Leafs beating their rival once again in Game 7. The finale of this series wasn’t as exciting as Game 6, as the Leafs dominated the Senators 3-0 in the final game, but Game 6 will always be a corner-stone in the Ottawa versus Toronto rivalry, showcasing how the Sens can never beat Toronto.

The Gary Roberts over-time winner in Game 2 may have been more exciting, but this game was more meaningful because even when the Leafs looked dead in the water, they always found a way to come back and defeat their rival.

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