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.
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.