Six wins into what’s already the best playoff run of the Shanaplan era, it couldn’t be going much better for the Maple Leafs. But there’ve been moments when fans will be forgiven for imagining a handful of those wins taking a turn for the worst.
For all their success, including a 2-0 series lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Maple Leafs have been watching third-period leads disappear on the regular.
In Wednesday’s Game 2, for instance, pc28watched a 3-2 advantage turn to a 3-3 tie early in the final frame on a goal by Anton Lundell. For past iterations of this Leafs team, that tying goal might have turned the tide, with the Leafs proceeding to drown under the weight of a blown lead. On Wednesday it took all of 17 seconds for Mitch Marner to restore the pc28lead on the way to a 4-3 win.
It was hardly the first time this spring that the franchise with the extensive history of collapsing in the clutch found a way to meet a big moment, looking relatively comfortable in the post-season’s inevitable chaos.
Game 2 against Ottawa saw a 2-0 lead turn to 2-2. But pc28won on a Max Domi overtime goal.
And in Games 3 and 6 against the Senators pc28saw 2-1 third-period leads evaporate. But the Leafs won the former in overtime thanks to a hero named Simon Benoit, and the latter in regulation with Max Pacioretty producing the goal that clinched the series.
Against Florida, Game 1’s 4-1 lead became 4-3, and yet the Leafs held firm in a situation in which they’ve previously been known to let go of the rope.
“I think it’s been all year, most of the year and in playoffs, where we respond,” head coach Craig Berube was saying on Thursday before the Leafs set off for South Florida and Friday’s Game 3. “We get scored on, it’s like, ‘OK. We need a good shift now.’ And I think our guys, one through four on the lines and the D, go out there with that mentality.”
It’s worth remembering the way Sheldon Keefe, Berube’s predecessor, used to view this team — at least, view it as immortalized in Amazon’s “All or Nothing.” That was the miked-up docuseries focused on Toronto’s 2020-21 season, the one that ended with the Leafs coughing up a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens en route to another first-round exit. In the show Keefe referred to his team as “fragile” more than once, and talked about the desperate need to validate Toronto’s regular-season success with playoff advancement. In one memorable practice-ice conversation with then-captain John Tavares, Keefe expressed palpable anxiety about the team navigating tight games.
“We shouldn’t be winning every game by one goal, having the goalie out and having to grind our way through,” Keefe said. “How can we build something here where we can have a great level of confidence that when we get a lead, the games are f—-in’ over?”
You’ll understand why the coach was jittery. The Leafs were 10-10 in one-goal playoff games during his tenure. They’re 4-1 so far under Berube. What used to be a coin flip has so far been money. What’s changed? A better mentality, superior manpower, and Berube’s straightforward north-style strategy don’t appear to be hurting the team. Neither does the fact the Leafs are getting their share of good breaks.
For all that Brad Marchand, the long-time Leafs nemesis, expressed his respect for these new-look playoff Leafs.
“They came ready to play in this round. We see that,” Marchand said after Game 2. “We have our work cut out.”
Marchand can toss those flowers, but he also knows what it’s like to lay a bouquet on another victim’s coffin. He knows no post-season lead is safe.
“These series can change on a dime,” Marchand said.
A series can change on a dime, just like the perception of a team can turn in a small handful of big moments. For years Keefe tried mostly in vain to coax better crunch-time results from this team. Heading into overtime of Game 7 against the Canadiens in 2021, he delivered an impassioned speech: “These are the f—-ing moments you’re remembered for … We want to be a great team, you want to be great f—-ing players, you’ve got to push through.”
Most of four years since those words were spoken, the Leafs are pushing through in unprecedented ways.
Good teams certainly don’t watch a third-period lead disappear and brace for the worst. So far, neither do these Leafs.
“We’re not going to sit back and ‘Oh, here they come.’ We’re going to go after ‘em. That’s the mindset you’ve got to have,” Berube said. “We get scored on and there’s ups and downs. We talk about composure all the time. Just go out and play.”
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