Ex-Hab Edmundson's 3-1 comeback advice stirs up painful memories for Leafs fans
Before earning an overtime victory on the road on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs were down 3-1 in a first-round series against the Boston Bruins.
Now just one game away from tying things up and pushing Boston to Game 7, the Leafs will need a win on home ice to keep the momentum going.
As a member of the Montreal Canadiens team that famously upset the Leafs in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, Toronto defenceman Joel Edmundson knows a thing or two about mounting an epic comeback.
Now behind enemy lines, the 30-year-old compared his time with the Habs to the situation his current club is in.
“Honestly, it just starts with one game. You just build off that one game and keep it rolling,” Edmundson told reporters ahead of Game 6 on Tuesday. “It’s kind of exciting. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
“There’s no tomorrow if you lose, so just put everything on the line, one night at a time,” he added.
While his comments were optimistic, Edmundson’s reference to one of Toronto’s many recent postseason blunders brought up some bad memories for Leafs fans on social media.
“You didn’t have to bring that up,” one user wrote in an X post.
You didn’t have to bring that up, bud.
ā Michael B. O’Connor / Percy Jackson Spoilers (@Mikael000011) May 2, 2024
https://t.co/Ibah9xBBkx pic.twitter.com/s3sX2gxkLa
— Erin Manning Writes (@emanningwrites) May 2, 2024
Another pointed out the irony of Edmundson potentially being involved in both heartbreak and triumph for the Leafs.
If the miracle happens it will honestly be funny that he came back from 3-1 against the Leafs and then did it again for the Leafs š https://t.co/NKfSLZHstI
ā tattedgiraffe (@tattedgiraffe1) May 2, 2024
for a split second i couldnāt remember what team heās talking about
ā liamās tired (@drifty_wifty) May 2, 2024
Edmundson also noted that the Bruins blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers last year has helped keep the Leafs motivated.
“When we got down 3-1, that was a topic we brought up. It just gave us some momentum and some positivity that we needed,” he explained. “Anything can happen. We knew it was gonna be a long series anyways.”
Leafs 2024 first-round playoff schedule
- Game 6: Thursday, May 2, Boston at Toronto, 8 pm
- Game 7: Saturday, May 4, Toronto at Boston, TBD*
*if necessary