John Tavares scored at 4:35 of overtime Saturday as MapleLeafs took a best-of-seven series for the first time since the opening round of 2004. NHL
From Morgan Rielly, the longest serving Leaf, to core members of the Shanaplan, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, this was the long-awaited spring-in their-step moment. But even this foothill seemed like scaling Mount Everest, given the difficult preceding years for the team and its fan base.
Three more years in the wilderness followed as “The Shanaplan’ took shape. While no one faulted the young Leafs for a solid effort in their 2017 playoff return against a prime-time Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, Boston notched two more Game 7 wins at TD Garden, out-scoring the Leafs 12-5.Article contentBut his Leafs scored just 10 in the five-game COVID bubble series at SBA, from a dramatic overtime comeback against Columbus to being shut out in the deciding match.
But Saturday’s result is why Tavares signed long-term here, what drove the trades for Cup veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn. It’s what called Mark Giordano home to work under a low-ball contract and meant so much to Scarborough’s Michael Bunting and Wayne Simmonds.Article content
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