Tag: Toronto Maple Leafs

A Leafs fan absolutely losing his mind with joy after Toronto’s stunning 4-1 comeback was so relatable

He was so happy, he literally couldn’t contain himself!

After years of torment, the Toronto Maple Leafs look like they’re finally exorcising their playoff demons.

On the road Monday night, Toronto fell behind 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It eventually came back to win the game 5-4 in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead. And everyone referenced the same famous Maple Leafs’ playoff collapse nearly a decade ago to the Boston Bruins.

After the game, a fan near the ice was caught on video trying (emphasis: trying) to have a conversation on the phone. There was just one problem. He was too overwhelmed with joy about the Maple Leafs’ comeback to do anything but seemingly scream at the top of his lungs.

It was such a relatable moment for anyone who’s seen their team win like this in stunning fashion.

[affiliatewidget_deal1]

Toronto is now one win away from its first playoff series win in almost two decades. Call it a hunch, but this fan won’t be the only one overcome with happiness if the Maple Leafs finally get to the second round.

The Maple Leafs erased a 4-1 deficit in Game 4 to force OT and NHL fans all made the same joke

IT WAS 4-1!

The Toronto Maple Leafs will never be able to outrun the “it was 4-1” meme, but this moment against the Tampa Bay Lightning surely has to feel good.

On Monday, the Maple Leafs erased a 4-1 deficit in the third period of Game 4 to force overtime with the Lightning. Toronto was able to score three straight times in the third, with two goals from Auston Matthews and the tying tally from Morgan Rielly to drag themselves back into the fight.

In case you’ve forgotten — or are new to hockey — the Maple Leafs infamously experienced coughing up a three-goal lead of their own a decade ago. Back in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs lost a 4-1 lead to the Boston Bruins in Game 7, instantly spawning the “it was 4-1” meme that Toronto has never been able to shake.

But now, thanks to Rielly, the Maple Leafs finally invoked “it was 4-1” on someone else for a change!

Considering this is the first time the Maple Leafs rallied from three down since the 1993 playoffs, this has to be a moment of catharsis for Toronto fans.

As expected, NHL fans had so many jokes after the Maple Leafs climbed back from a 4-1 deficit in Game 4.

Auston Matthews instigated his first NHL fight with Steven Stamkos during tense Leafs win

This was such a shocking brawl, even if it was a tight playoff game.

Usually, when you think about Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos, you think of the two forwards scoring electric goals. During the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-3 overtime win on Saturday night over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the pair made headlines for a different reason.

They got into a fight that set off an all-out brawl in the early parts of the third period. For two players of this kind of offensive talent, it was a little jarring to see. Normally, a fight is started by a fourth-line “gritty” player trying to spark their team to a rally.

Not two of the best players on the ice, period.

Beyond how shocking it is to see Matthews and Stamkos fighting, their little battle made NHL history. They are the first two players in NHL history to each have a 60-goal season on their resume and duke it out.

Per ESPN, Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe had a different opinion of the entire sequence.

“The fight, itself, that’s a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation, right.”

If Keefe was upset about the brawl, at least he and Matthews took home the most important result: A win and a 2-1 series lead.

Leafs fans latched onto Chris Chelios ripping the refs but it’s just another excuse for falling flat

The officials aren’t to blame for another disastrous playoff start.

Another spring is here, and the Toronto Maple Leafs already look “poised” for another disappointing postseason showing.

After taking their lumps in the form of a 7-3 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 — thoroughly demoralizing their hometown fans — the Leafs would do well to do some soul-searching before this first-round series gets away from them.

Blaming the officiating, no matter how horrible, but it’s just an excuse for what is Toronto precedent in the playoffs by now. This sentiment holds true even if it’s a legend like Chris Chelios — who analyzed the game in ESPN’s studio — ripping awful work by the referees.

Was there a massive disparity in calls? Sure. Tampa Bay had eight power play opportunities to Toronto’s four, and the Lightning scored on four of those chances.

But the Leafs were clearly on their heels from the jump. The Leafs were the ones who, as usual, were pressing. A 3-0 early deficit is more in line with how Toronto has approached the postseason meekly than it is the officiating favoring the Lightning outright.

It’s a poor way of rationalizing the Leafs laying a giant egg. And if any of the players latch onto this thought process themselves, then Toronto will likely have no chance of battling back and finally advancing to the second round for the first time in almost two decades.

It’s the oldest excuse in the book.

Video shows dejected Leafs fans 30 minutes into another disastrous playoff start

This was so brutal to watch. These fans have been through so much.

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered their first-round playoff series, hoping to finally advance a round for the first time since 2004. Instead, in their seventh straight postseason berth, the Leafs gave their hometown fans more of the same:

A giant dud at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Before Toronto could even catch its breath, the Lightning had a 2-0 lead just about seven minutes into Game 1. By the end of the period, Tampa Bay held a 3-0 margin. In an eventual 7-3 blowout loss, Leafs fans were, predictably, not taking this well.

Thirty minutes into what was supposed to be the start of a fun spring, Leafs fans inside and outside of Toronto’s home arena were sitting in stunned silence. I would imagine it was much of the same for any folks watching at home:

This series is far from over, and the Leafs are probably still the better team on paper. But with the way Toronto lost Game 1, it’s seemingly already following a familiar, disappointing playoff script.

Leafs fans know the deal better than anyone.

Joe Biden threw shade at the Toronto Maple Leafs during Canadian Parliament address

President Biden got a playful dig in at the Toronto Maple Leafs while visiting Canada’s Parliament on Friday.

While addressing the Canadian Parliament on Friday, President Joe Biden threw a little shade at one of Canada’s most popular hockey teams.

After the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-2, in January, Biden jokingly revealed that he wasn’t over seeing his Flyers lose.

With the president and the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, fans of Philadelphia sports, Biden couldn’t resist taking a playful jab at the polarizing NHL team for taking down the Flyers.

“I have to say, I like your teams, except the Leafs,” Biden told Canada’s Parliament. “I’ll tell you why. They beat the Flyers back in January, that’s why.”

Biden got a standing ovation from a good portion of the folks in the room, with a few jeers from Leafs fans thrown in for good measure.

Biden has long supported professional teams from Pennsylvania, the state he calls home. Even as he traveled up north, he couldn’t help but stir the pot within hockey fandom.

At the very least, we know Gritty the Flyers mascot would be proud to see the president defend the Philly hockey team.

Top-Shelf Takes: The Maple Leafs are fundamentally broken and there’s no easy fix

No easy help is coming for this miserable Maple Leafs squad.

Welcome to Top-Shelf Takes, a weekly series from staff writer Mary Clarke all about the NHL. Lace up your skates as we dive deep into the epic highs and lows of this little sport called hockey.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are no stranger to disappointment. That being said, that disappointment usually doesn’t kick in until springtime around the first round of the playoffs, not after the first month of the season.

As November begins, the Maple Leafs are 4-4-2 and sit seventh in the Atlantic after blowing a 3-1 lead to the worst team in the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks, over the weekend. Overall, Toronto looks like a disjointed mess, with its biggest stars — Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, in particular — not scoring and a rash of injuries decimating the team’s blue line.

Hilariously, the only thing going right for the Maple Leafs at the moment is the goaltending of Ilya Samsonov, who’s stepped up big time for the injured Matt Murray and has posted a .920 save percentage in six games of work.

And yet, above all else, these Maple Leafs are playing scared hockey for the entire NHL to see.

If the Maple Leafs were any other team in the NHL, a 4-4-2 start to the season would be disappointing, not an apocalyptic event. But because it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose history of playoff misfortunes stretch back decades and whose fanbase is considered the largest and most vocal in all the NHL, it’s a Big Deal™️.

On paper, this Maple Leafs team should be better than they are. Toronto is the only team in the NHL to have three players (Matthews, Marner, and John Tavares) making over $10 million a season on their payroll. Matthews, lest we all forget, won the Hart Trophy last season after a 60-goal, 106-point year while the Maple Leafs finished with the NHL’s second-best offense.

With top-tier talent comes sky-high expectations, and yet the Maple Leafs still flirt with first round exits at every opportunity. General manager Kyle Dubas has stayed the course with the team’s main core over the last few seasons, but by now it’s clear there’s something fundamentally wrong with this hockey team.

We all know what they say about the definition of insanity, after all.

The 2022-23 season is a make-or-break year for the Maple Leafs. Depending on how November goes, it might be a make-or-break month for Toronto when all is said and done. There’s a wealth of talent on this Maple Leafs team, but none of it matters when they’ve been unable to get past the mental blocks that have been holding them back for years.

Given the flat cap and the rarity of big in-season moves, it’s unrealistic to expect major changes from the Maple Leafs after the first few weeks of the season. That being said, things can’t continue on as they have been in Toronto. Whether they realize that now or in the spring after another first round loss, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Anaheim Ducks odds, tips and betting trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks take the ice in NHL action at Honda Center on Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 PM ET. The game airs on ESPN+, TSN4, and BSSC. Toronto’s last game was a 4-3 overtime road loss to the San Jose Sharks on October 27. …

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks take the ice in NHL action at Honda Center on Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 PM ET. The game airs on ESPN+, TSN4, and BSSC.

Toronto’s last game was a 4-3 overtime road loss to the San Jose Sharks on October 27.

Anaheim’s last game was a road loss, 4-0, to the Vegas Golden Knights on October 28.

Ahead of this matchup, here is everything you need to get ready for Sunday’s hockey action.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Anaheim Ducks Odds and Betting Lines

  • Favorite: Maple Leafs (-183)
  • Underdog: Ducks (+154)
  • Over/under: 6.5

Want some action on the latest NHL games? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO and NJ at Tipico Sportsbook.

Maple Leafs Stats and Trends

  • Toronto has been victorious in four of the eight games it’s played as the moneyline favorite this season.
  • The Maple Leafs have a record of 3-3 this season while playing with their moneyline odds shorter than -183.
  • Toronto has a 64.7% chance of winning this game, per the moneyline odds.
  • Toronto has combined with its opponent to put up more than 6.5 goals just twice this season.
  • They have totaled 22 goals during that stretch.
  • Defensively, the Maple Leafs have allowed 21 goals (2.6 per game) in those 10 outings.

Ducks Stats and Trends

  • The Ducks have been an underdog seven times, and has no upset wins.
  • Anaheim has been an underdog with +154 odds or longer four times this season, and lost each of those games.
  • The moneyline set in this outing implies a 39.4% chance for the Ducks to win.
  • So far this season, 37.5% of Anaheim’s games (3/8) have had more goals than Sunday’s over/under of 6.5.
  • They have averaged 2.0 goals per game (16 total) during that span.
  • Over on the defensive end, the Ducks have allowed 4.2 goals per game (34 total) in those 10 matchups.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).

Maple Leafs’ tying goal was wiped off the board on a controversial, confusing hand pass ruling

This was a tough one to swallow for the Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may not have deserved to win this game, but a controversial official ruling cost them a chance to try.

On Monday, the Maple Leafs were playing host to the winless Arizona Coyotes in an early season bout. Through two periods, the Maple Leafs looked listless as the Coyotes built a 2-0 lead on their opponents, but Toronto made a furious comeback in the third to tie the game.

After Shayne Gostisbehere regained the lead for the Coyotes on a power play with less than two minutes remaining, things were looking dire for the Maple Leafs. With 39 seconds left in the game, however, Alexander Kerfoot seemingly tied up the game for the Maple Leafs with a stellar goal. Unfortunately, the goal wouldn’t stand as Morgan Rielly was called for a hand pass just before Kerfoot’s tally.

Wait, what? Sure, Rielly does stop the puck with his hand, but to call a hand pass — intentionally directing the puck to a teammate — in that situation feels quite absurd. Here’s how the NHL’s rulebook defines a hand pass.

That’s a rough one to take right there. The Coyotes ended up beating the Maple Leafs 4-2 thanks to the controversial call, a wound that will certainly sting until the two teams meet again in late December on ESPN+.

Maple Leafs fans were not happy about the call, to say the least.

The Maple Leafs started the season the way they ended every playoffs, by melting down

Usually, the Leafs choke in the playoffs, not the regular season!

At this point, a devastating Maple Leafs’ loss in some shape or form should probably be expected. With one of the more talented cores in the NHL, Toronto has basically made it a time-honored tradition to waste that talent come the spring when the playoffs roll around.

On Wednesday night, during their season opener against the Canadiens (+200), the Leafs pivoted somewhat and started the year with a meltdown.

In a back-and-forth battle, Toronto seemingly couldn’t shake Montreal, taking the lead twice and surrendering it … twice in the second period. When the closing stanza came around, the Canadiens took the advantage with a 3-2 lead before the Leafs would tie it up in the final few minutes.

It seemed like we’d be heading for overtime until a Josh Anderson shot found the back of the net, on new goal Matt Murray no less, with roughly 17 seconds on the clock:

How glorious and painful, at the same time, to lose to Montreal 4-3 in such a fashion. The Leafs couldn’t even contain themselves enough not to blow a potential win one game into their season. If this is how the Toronto 2022-2023 campaign begins, it might be another eventual agonizing year for the Leafs.