Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Playoff Games in Recent Years
Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Playoff Games in Recent Years
No. 5, 2017 First Round, Game 3
First up on the list is game 3 from the 2017 first round, where the Leafs made their first playoff appearance since 2013.
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the series as massive underdogs, facing off against the Cup favourites and Presidents’ Trophy winners, Washington Capitals.
The Leafs dropped game 1 in Washington but took game 2 thanks to a clutch overtime goal from Kasperi Kapanen.
Heading back to Toronto with a 1-1 tie, the Leafs were in a series in which many people said they had no chance.
However, game 3 did not start according to plan.
The Leafs found themselves down 2-0 after just 5 minutes of play, and despite Auston Matthews scoring his first-ever playoff goal to cut the lead in half, the Capitals scored another goal early in the second to make the game 3-1 and restore the 2-goal lead.
However, the Leafs did not give up. They tied the game at 3-3 before the end of the second and managed to force OT, where they had an early chance on the power play.
Tyler Bozak tipped home a shot-pass from Nazem Kadri, giving the Leafs the win and a 2-1 series lead.
This game was thoroughly entertaining and showed the Leafs’ resilience against a strong team. While Toronto ended up losing the series in six games, this was still a terrific win and gave Leafs fans tons of hope for the future.
Game highlights: (here)
No. 4, 2022 First Round, Game 5
Number four on the list is a fairly recent game taking place just last year. The Toronto Maple Leafs were taking on their rivals, as well as the two-time defending champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
The series was tied at 2-2 and headed back to Toronto for a critical game 5, but like the first game on this list, it did not start as intended.
The Leafs found themselves down 2-0 just over 6 minutes into the game, and after a game 4 loss where the Lightning pummeled the buds 7-3, it was starting to look like the series was flipping in favour of Tampa.
The Leafs got out of the first period still down 2-0, but took numerous penalties in the first and could’ve easily been down by more goals.
With most of the Leafs hope gone, no one would’ve guessed the upcoming 2 periods would be some of the most entertaining Leafs hockey of the entire decade.
John Tavares got Toronto on the board early in the second, giving them some life. Then 3 minutes into the third period, the Leafs found the back of the net twice in less than 1:30 to take a 3-2 lead.
The atmosphere at Scotiabank Arena was absolutely electric, and rightfully so, and even though the Lightning tied the game 3-3 with 11 minutes remaining, the Leafs were far from done.
Just over 6 minutes remained in the game and the next goal would be crucial. With the help of Michael Bunting, Auston Matthews forced a turnover, giving him and Mitch Marner a 2-on-1 chance to take the lead back.
Marner delivered a perfect shot-pass off the pad of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevski right to the stick of Matthews, and he made no mistake.
The Leafs held on to win the game 4-3 and they took a 3-2 series lead over the Lightning.
Fans of the Leafs are used to their team blowing a lead in big games, not coming back from them.
This game was different. The Leafs showed tons of resilience and determination and it sure paid off, winning them a critical game 5. Even though they lost this series, this game was absolutely terrific and will be remembered for years to come.
Game highlights: (here)
No. 3, 2023 First Round Game 4
Number three on the list is a game that took place this past year and is another game vs the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That’s right, it’s game 4 from the 2023 first-round series vs Tampa. With this series being the first series victory for the Leafs in 19 years, it obviously produced many memorable games for Toronto fans.
Among these games is game 4, where the Leafs had a 2-1 series lead and a chance to put the Lightning on the brink of elimination.
The Leafs found themselves down 2-0 after the first period, but they weren’t playing badly by any means. Tampa was just playing at the top of their game, pulling off some pretty passing plays and showing why they made 3-straight cup finals.
Noel Acciari got the Leafs on the board early in the second period, making the game 2-1. But the Lightning took the game back, scoring 2 more goals in the middle frame, making the score 4-1 heading into the third.
At this point, many fans had accepted the game was over. It wasn’t the end of the world, as the series would’ve been 2-2 heading back to Toronto. But even with the massive task ahead of them, the Leafs did not quit.
In the third, Auston Matthews scored a pair of goals, bringing the Leafs within one. Then with just under 4 minutes left in the final regulation frame, it was game 3 hero Morgan Rielly tying the game.
Against all odds, the Leafs had crawled back to tie the game and force overtime, where they had a chance on the power play to win it.
It was none other than Alex Kerfoot, a player that fans have given lots of backlash for his play, proving everyone wrong and scoring the game-winner for the Leafs.
Everyone remembers the 4-1 game 7 blown lead the Leafs had in the 2013 first round vs Boston, and almost every Leaf fan has heard the words “it was 4-1”. But now, finally, a decade later, the script has flipped, and this time it was the Leafs coming back from the 4-1 deficit, instead of blowing it.
This game put the Leafs up 3-1 in their series against the Lightning, which they would ultimately win in 6 games.
Imagine if this game was a home game…Scotiabank Arena would be shaking.
Game highlights:(here)
No. 2, 2020 Qualifying Round, Game 4
Number 2 on the list is yet another game 4, but not a game against Tampa, don’t worry.
This game came during the qualifying round in the 2020 COVID-bubble playoffs, where the Leafs were trailing 2-1 in a best-of-five series to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Toronto obviously needed to win this game to keep their season alive, but in typical Leafs fashion, they came out flat, had very few chances all game, and ultimately were down 3-0 late in the third period.
Many people probably turned the game off at this point, and who can blame them? With all due respect to Columbus, the Leafs were easily the better team on paper, but as they’d done so for years, they failed to reach expectations. Twitter was going off as well, calling the Leafs “embarrassing” and “a joke of a franchise”.
Little did we know one of the greatest comebacks in hockey history was about to take place.
With just under 4 minutes left, William Nylander got the Leafs on the board, making the game 3-1. Definitely closer, but still, a ways to go, and there wasn’t much time left on the clock.
Less than a minute later, John Tavares received a pass in the slot and fired it top shelf. It’s a 3-2 game, and now the Leafs had just over 3 minutes left to tie it up with all the momentum going their way.
Then with 22 seconds left, after taking a beautiful cross-ice pass from Auston Matthews, Zach Hyman tied the game with a five-hole shot on Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who had looked unbeatable the entire game until that point.
The Leafs had shocked everyone with this comeback, but they weren’t done yet.
With a chance on the power play in the first overtime period, the Blue Jackets left the most dangerous guy on the ice wide-open. A centering pass from John Tavares went right to Matthews, who made no mistake and won the game for the Leafs.In stunning fashion, the Leafs pulled off a comeback for the ages.
Ironically, the team known for constantly choking in big moments(Toronto), rallied from a 3-goal deficit in the dying minutes of the third against one of the league’s most well-structured teams (Columbus).
Unfortunately, as amazing as this comeback is, it is overshadowed by the Leafs losing game 5, and ultimately the series. Ironically again, the final score in game 5 was 3-0.
Regardless, it was a phenomenal comeback, but there is still one more game that I’d rank higher than this one.
(Game highlights: here)
No. 1, 2023 First Round, Game 6
We finally made it to the number one spot. It was a lot of fun looking back at these past Leafs games, and we’ve now arrived at the best game of them all.
This game is none other than game 6 of the 2023 first round, where the Leafs, after 19 years of trying, finally won a playoff series.
Every game on this list up until now has been amazing, but they all have something in common, that being the Leafs ended up losing those series. This one is different, however, this was the game every Leaf fan was waiting for, the day they finally win a playoff series. This game will likely go down in Leafs’ history and be remembered for a long time.
The opening frame of this game featured no scoring but it was very entertaining regardless. There were many chances on both sides and both teams brought their A-game.
In the second period, it was none other than Auston Matthews who opened the scoring. It was his fifth goal of the series and gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
In the third, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos tied the game, putting home a rebound past Ilya Samsonov. The game stayed tied until the end of the third, and overtime ensued.
I was lucky enough to be at Maple Leafs Square for this game, and I, along with the other thousands of fans who were in attendance, was sweating nervously. We all knew that this could be the game where the Leafs finally pull through to win a series, but there was still lots of doubt in our minds, as the Leafs have been here before and failed to capitalize.
Less than 5 minutes into overtime, it was Leafs captain John Tavares scoring the winning goal. As Chris Cuthbert put it, the “Leafs finally caught lightning in a bottle”, the curse was finally over.
This was the moment every Leafs fan was waiting for, their team had finally done it.
Game highlights: (here)
In conclusion, this was a ton of fun to make. Even with the lack of a Stanley Cup since 1967, and no real deep playoff runs in a while, these games were really enjoyable to look back at.
Next. The Toronto Maple Leafs New Head Coach Candidates. dark
Let’s hope in a year’s time I can make another list like this one, with some more iconic Leafs moments, and hopefully a deeper playoff run.