Leafs win first playoff series in 19 years with wild OT victory

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

They’re partying like it’s 2004 in Toronto tonight.

The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped the NHL’s longest active playoff series win drought with a 2-1 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday, winning the best-of-seven-series 4-2 with an overtime goal from John Tavares.

GAME WINNER!
SERIES WINNER!

LET’S. GO. LEAFS. NATION!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/dkttq8eBpW

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2023

All three of the games played in Tampa in this series were won by the Leafs in overtime.

Auston Matthews’ fifth goal of the series broke the scoreless tie with just over six minutes remaining in the second period.

POW PAPI! 💥 pic.twitter.com/LRQhKB9k9J

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2023

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos pounced on a rebound to even the score just over four minutes into the third period, setting the stage for overtime.

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN 🫡 pic.twitter.com/9iND5Yj9wW

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 30, 2023

Tampa Bay outshot Toronto 32-22 on the night, but goaltender Ilya Samsonov turned in a strong 31-save performance for the Leafs.

chaos in front of Samsonov pic.twitter.com/n9osCuGTQS

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 29, 2023

The Maple Leafs slayed a few dragons tonight. In the 19 years in between series victories, they had last seven consecutive series, as well as 11 consecutive playoff games where they’d had a chance to close out a series. All of those streaks finally came to an end on Saturday.

Matthews reflected on the first series victory of his career afterwards and made it clear the Leafs aren’t satisfied yet.

"We're still a long way from where we wanna go."

Auston Matthews talks with @SNkylebukauskas after the Maple Leafs break the pattern as they advance to the Second Round for the first time since 2004. pic.twitter.com/HmfLaRNKel

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 30, 2023

The Leafs’ second-round opponent — yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ second-round opponent — will be the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. They will have home-ice advantage if they play for the Panthers. If it’s the Bruins, they’ll have a chance to slay another dragon, as Boston handed Toronto three of those Game 7 losses during the drought.