Toronto Maple Leafs Game 5 Tonight: How Did We Get Here?

For the third season in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs will play a do-or-die game to decide the first round of the playoffs.

After a miracle comeback in Game 4 of the series, the Toronto Maple Leafs will try to get past their first round demons by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets in a series deciding Game 5.

If you turned off your TV with four minutes left in Game 4 and went to sleep, I have some good news for you. The team that always disappoints did the opposite and pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Leafs history.

It’s still hard to believe it happened. The game was supposed to be over and the Leafs were heading to the golf course, but instead, they flipped the script and scored three quick goals to force overtime.

Midway through overtime, the Leafs power-play delivered and non-other than Auston Matthews scored the game-winning goal to cap the comeback.

So How Did We Get To A Deciding Game 5?

After taking four months (which felt like four years) to restart the NHL season, the Leafs season could be over on Sunday and it’s all a blur.

Let’s recap the last few games as a reminder.

Game 1: Columbus Blue Jackets win 2-0 (1-0 series lead for Columbus)

Sunday, August 2 seems like an eternity ago at this point, but that’s when Game 1 happened between the Blue Jackets and Leafs.

After a long layoff, we expected the Toronto Maple Leafs offense to bring it against Columbus but it was found out pretty quickly that the Blue Jackets defense is very good. Led by Seth Jones, the Blue Jackets smothered the Leafs all night and they couldn’t find the back of the net.

Cam Atkinson scored a greasy goal from the wing that Andersen should have stopped, which turned into the game-winning goal. The Leafs offense couldn’t get anything going and the team went down 1-0 in the series.

Game 2: Toronto Maple Leafs Win 3-0 (Series tied 1-1)

We had a Leafs playoff game at 4:00PM on a Tuesday in August. 2020 is weird, man.

After a dismal Game 1 by the offense, they showed up in Game 2 and the best players delivered. Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly all scored, and Freddie Andersen was brilliant.

From start-to-finish, the Leafs dominated and they looked like the offensive power-house we remember. John Tortorella summed the game up perfectly saying, “Toronto was really good, we sucked.”

Game 3: Columbus Blue Jackets win 4-3, OT (2-1 Series Lead for Columbus)

The Leafs started right where they left off in Game 3. Cody Ceci scored a short-handed goal which was as greasy as they get, William Nylander then buried on the power-play and even the 18-year-old Nick Robertson scored his first career NHL goal.

Everything in Leafs Land looked perfect and the team was bound to go up 2-1 in the series. But then Pierre-Luc Dubois showed up.

After getting yelled at by Tortorella earlier in the series, the Leafs blew a 3-0 lead and the game was off to overtime. In OT, the Toronto Maple Leafs dominated the Blue Jackets. That didn’t matter though, and Dubois scored his third goal of the night past Andersen to give Columbus a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: Toronto Maple Leafs Win 4-3, OT (Series tied 2-2)

We’ll get through this quickly. The Leafs were lost for three periods and the season looked finished down 3-0 with only four minutes remaining.

Columbus had just scored the last seven goals in a row in the series and seemed too strong for this Leafs team. But then it all happened for Toronto. Three goals in the last four minutes and they forced OT in the craziest few minutes in team history.

In OT, Matthews scored the biggest goal of his career and the Leafs won 4-3. I still can’t believe it.

Game 5: To Be Determined

This series has gone back-and-forth with each team looking dominant, so what’s going to happen in Game 5?

After saving their season, the Leafs have to come out hungrier than ever in Game 5, right? But at the same time, you know Tortorella screamed at every single player on Columbus, so they’ll be ready too.

Prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs win 3-1 (Tavares scores game-winning goal)

See y’all for Game 5. Go Leafs Go!