For the series to continue after tonight, the Maple Leafs will need more than a large uptick in performance. The Panthers will, simultaneously, have to remove their feet from the pedal in an elimination game at home.
— my blog prior to Game 6

TORONTO (May 17) — Both happened.

As, perhaps, should have for the most–loyal and resilient fans in the National Hockey League; maybe in all of North American professional sport. Clearly, no followers in the 132–year history of the Stanley Cup chase have remained in the doldrums for such an amount of time. Now, more than 58 flips of the calendar. Forget about teenagers and young adults. A Leafs fan must be 70 years old to retain any first–hand recollection of May 2, 1967 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Heck, if you aren’t in your early 30’s, you won’t remember the club’s most—recent trip to the Stanley Cup semifinals — in 2002 against (ahem) Carolina: a six–game submission to the club now lying in wait for the Toronto–Florida survivor. The team with all the glitzy playoff credentials couldn’t ignite its engine at home on Friday night. Just when all of us were certain that Sergei Bobrovsky, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Co. had softened the Leafs for the kill, they opened their jaws and released the prey. Quite frankly, it was astonishing to witness. All of two shots at Joseph Woll in the first 20 minutes; absolutely face–planting on a pair of early powerplays. The only reasonable conclusion? Florida determined, prior to the match, that the Leafs had quit on the series during Wednesday night’s 6–1 debacle at Scotiabank Arena. Merely showing up in their red and dark–blue uniforms would enervate the visitors into another long summer. As for effort, commitment and energy? None would be needed against a division rival known throughout the sport as gifted, yet feeble.

Well, even a defending champion can learn playoff lessons. And, the best fans in hockey have another life.

Auston Matthews, the beleaguered captain, partially whiffed on a shot at 6:20 of the third period that skittered between Bobrovsky’s pads. It stood up as the game winner. The Florida goalie would probably like a re–do, as Matthews can fire the puck, in his sleep, with four times the velocity. Until then, and despite what you may be reading elsewhere about latent heroism, Matthews and Mitch Marner (who provided the primary assist) were nowhere to be found. Again. Especially in the first half of the second period, when Floirida outshot the Leafs, 9–0.

On this night, however, the defending champs were off–kilter, hanging onto the puck far too long and allowing the determined visitors to mess up rhythm; the nimble Toronto defenders blocked a jaw–dropping 31 shot attempts.

Woll, though dependable, will never earn a less–arduous shutout, facing a mere 22 Panther volleys.

How rare was this accomplishment for the Maple Leafs? Well, consider that only twice in the past 61 years has the club prevailed in Game 6 on the road when facing elimination: May 12, 2002 against Ottawa in the second round (advancing to play Carolina). And, Apr. 23, 1964, during the Stanley Cup final, when defenseman Bob Baun famously scored on Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk in overtime at the Olympia while skating on a cracked foot. Having been crudely ferried from the ice late in regulation on a hand–held gurney, Baun emerged for the extra period with Novocaine coursing through his blood. His shot from the point deflected past Sawchuk off defender Bill Gadsby.

On both occasions, the Maple Leafs prevailed at home in the decisive match: blanking the Senators, 3–0, at Air Canada Centre and the Red Wings, 4–0, at Maple Leaf Gardens for the club’s third consecutive Stanley Cup title.

So, a couple of historic indicators favor the Leafs over the Panthers in Game 7. And, I’m not sure the ghoulish demons of Scotiabank Arena — where the Leafs were laid to rest in 2017 (vs. Washington); 2020 (vs. Columbus); 2021 (vs. Montreal); 2022 (vs. Tampa Bay) and 2023 (vs. Florida) — apply at this moment. From my perspective, the Core–4 Leafs dispelled, on Friday, a nearly decade–long notion that they cannot prevail in the clutch. No one truly expected the visitors to survive the road environment in Sunrise, did they? It was the most–important playoff triumph of the Brendan Shanahan administration; rivaled only by Game 5 in the 2019 opening–round clash with the Bruins, when Mike Babcock expertly guided his troops to a 2–1 victory at TD Garden and a 3–2 series lead.

Whereupon the Core–4 Leafs began to craft their seedy reputation: falling flat in a home matinee before national TV audiences on both sides of the border (a 4–2 defeat). The unnerved visitors were easy prey for the Bruins in the decisive match, a 5–1 blowout. I’ve purposely diminished the John Tavares overtime winner in 2023 against Tampa, only because Matthews and Co. failed to show for the ensuing series with the Panthers. Conversely, Friday night’s startling conquest — and my finger should fall off while writing this — could have finally signaled a turning point for the badgered Toronto nucleus. It occurred considerably later in the Stanley Cup hunt, amid a maelstrom of paranoia and misgiving. The precise conditions that have led to repeated failure with this group.

Yes, the defending champions played their part. And, must be wondering why they laid such an egg in a familiar circumstance against a normally reticent rival. The answer will be provided at Scotiabank Arena tomorrow night.

THERE WAS NO QUIT IN THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AS FLORIDA GOALIE SERGEI BOBROVSKY DISCOVERED DURING THIS CREASE MISHAP. DAVID SANTIAGO / THE MIAMI HERALD 

At some level, the Leafs are playing with house money, given the universal skepticism that followed Game 5 — a cadaverous replay of prior “big” moments on Bay St. There is tangible relief among local fans over the club surviving its presumptive elimination. Game 7 almost seems like a bonus, doesn’t it? Neither can the Leafs approach this opportunity with trepidation. Again, last night’s victory, on the road, should help to relieve the familiar malaise.

For the multitudes that sway and todder with the Maple Leafs, it’s a rapturous rebirth. How many expected to wake up this morning without that empty, hollow sensation of another aborted Cup run? To all of you, this is manna from heaven. A home game against the defending champions for a berth in the Stanley Cup semifinals — the National Hockey League’s Final Four. Which hasn’t happened around here for nearly a quarter century. I remember how it occurred for the first time in my adult life: after Lanny McDonald dispatched the New York Islanders in overtime of Game 7 in the 1978 quarterfinals. Suddenly; unexpectedly, it was Toronto vs. Montreal / Boston vs. Philadelphia; the victors advancing to the title round. Neither will the current team, with a win tomorrow night, encounter a rival as imposing as the dynastic Canadiens of Scotty Bowman, Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur and the Big 3 on defense. Which demolished the ’78 Leafs (playing without the injured Borje Salming) in four games.

But, first, there’s a Toronto–Florida Game 7. Unanticipated by even the most–virulent and dyed in the wool Leaf supporters. And, it’s that countless mob I feel happiest for today. A nod, as well, to Shanahan, who has weathered abundant playoff grief and criticism during his 11–plus years as president of the hockey club.

He’ll, too, enjoy this “second” chance. Perhaps more than anyone.

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