The Toronto Maple Leafs will head into Game 7 of their second-round series with the Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs looking to rewrite their dismal Game 7 history.
For long-suffering Leafs fans, the memories of Game 7s past remain a haunting thought.
Another Game 7. Another disappointing ending.
The Leafs are 12-15 all-time in Game 7s dating back to 1941. But that’s ancient history. If we focus on recent times, the Leafs are 0-5 in Game 7s during the Auston Matthews era.
During that span, the Toronto Maple Leafs have lost three Game 7s to Brad Marchand. Granted, those three losses came against the Boston Bruins. That history includes last spring’s disappointing first-round exit, in which Game 7 went to overtime.
Sprinkled in between are the epic collapse against the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 and another first-round loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022.
That abysmal Game 7 history is one that the Leafs would love to rewrite on Sunday night. With a win, all the bad memories can go away. The Leafs will have advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2002, delighting and appeasing a starving fan base.
Now, it is plausible to assume the Leafs will pull it off on Sunday night.
Yes and no. The Panthers are by no means an easy out. They have a team built to win championships. But then again, so do the Leafs. Toronto has the wherewithal to win a crucial Game 7.
But doing so requires a strong all-round effort.
Auston Matthews cannot afford another Game 7 loss on his watch
This Game 7 situation is unique in the sense that it’s Auston Matthews’ first winner-take-all game as team captain.
In previous years, it was John Tavares who had the burden of carrying the team in such trying times. But now, it’s Matthews who must rise to the occasion.
Matthews showed off that he’s capable in Game 6, scoring the game-winner while playing one of the best two-way games we’ve seen from him all year. His leadership has gone beyond scoring goals.
Yes, Matthews must score. But it’s all the other intangibles that make him the one to carry the team on his back. It’s a huge load to bear but it’s one that the greatest captains have carried successfully.
A Game 7 win against the Panthers would cement Matthews’ legacy as one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ greatest captains in team history. He would be remembered as the guy who led the rally to bring the team out of the shadows and into Stanley Cup playoff history.
A loss, however, while not diminishing Auston Matthews’ greatness, would seemingly rob him of an opportunity to enshrine himself as one of the NHL’s true greats.
The nerve-wracking Game 7 on Sunday night promises to be the best game of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs so far.