The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the most dominant regular-season teams in the NHL over the past decade. Their postseason berth this season gave them nine straight years playing for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup. The fact that their first-round series win against the Ottawa Senators was only their second series win over these nine years shows how mightily they've struggled in the playoffs.
What makes Toronto's lack of playoff success that much more frustrating is that they haven't been thoroughly outplayed. They have not been swept a single time in this nine-year run. Instead, they've failed on numerous occasions to close the opposition out in a win-or-go-home scenario.
The Maple Leafs are hoping to change that narrative this season, as they are currently in a Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. Unfortunately, based on what the team's recent history says, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals by winning in a Game 7 will be easier said than done.
The last five Game 7s for the Toronto Maple Leafs
2024 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Bruins 2, Maple Leafs 1 (OT)
The most recent Game 7 loss for Toronto came last season, and it came in heartbreaking fashion. The Maple Leafs rebounded from a 3-1 series deficit against their arch-rivals, the Boston Bruins, and took a 1-0 lead in the third period on a William Nylander goal.
The Bruins wound up tying the game just over one minute later, and the game wound up going to overtime. The extra session brought Déjà vu to every Toronto fan, as the Bruins punched their ticket to the second round less than two minutes into overtime.
The Leafs had the momentum late in a series for once, only to let the Bruins come back and rip their hearts out.
2022 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1
The Maple Leafs have the misfortune of playing in what is consistently one of the toughest divisions in the NHL. Due to the playoff format, they're almost always stuck playing one of the best teams in the NHL in the first round. Their 2022 first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning was a prime example of that. The Leafs had the fourth-most points in the NHL, and the Lightning were tied for seventh. Yet, they had to face off in the first round. It went the distance, but the result was not a kind one.
The Maple Leafs outshot Tampa Bay on their home ice, but the Lightning, thanks to a pair of goals from Nick Paul, were able to advance to the second round. The Lightning took that momentum and made a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before falling short.
That season was Toronto's best in this nine-year run with 115 points during the regular season, but the final result was a familiar and painful one.
2021 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 1
The team's inability to come through in a win-or-go-home game is frustrating, but none of these losses really compare to their defeat in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. The 35-14-7 Leafs were facing off against a 24-21-11 Canadians team that was really just lucky to make the playoffs. Instead of taking care of business, the Leafs imploded.
They were up three games to one in the series and had outscored Montreal 10-4 in the first four games of the series, but then lost the next two in overtime to force a Game 7. Losing the next two hurt, but you'd think a Game 7 at home with the clear talent advantage would result in the Leafs advancing, but that was not the case.
The team's offense, once again, went silent when it mattered most. The only goal scorer was seemingly the only star who consistently shows up in big games, William Nylander. The Leafs fell 3-1 and lost the series 4-3 in embarrassing fashion.
2019 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Bruins 5, Maple Leafs 1
The Maple Leafs have had all kinds of trouble with the Bruins in recent history, but it really did feel like they had found a way to get past their rivals in 2019. The Leafs won a crucial Game 5 on the road, setting the stage for a Game 6 to be played on their home ice. All they had to do was win a game in front of a crowd that was as eager as any to see its team win a round. That didn't happen, and the Leafs had the seemingly impossible task of rebounding and winning the series on the road.
The final result of that game was one Leafs fans likely expected. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead in the first period and led 3-1 early in the third period. The Maple Leafs had their chances, but simply failed to solve Tuukka Rask. The 5-1 score was more lopsided than the game suggested, since the Bruins scored a pair of empty net goals, but at the end of the day, it's really hard to win a Game 7 scoring only one goal.
2018 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Bruins 7, Maple Leafs 4
Yup, this was the same old story. The Maple Leafs trailed 3-1 in the series and were one win away from being eliminated. They won Games 5 and 6 to force a Game 7 to be played in enemy territory. Of course, the result was one Leafs fans could have predicted. This one was painful for a different reason.
For once, their offense actually showed up in a Game 7. They scored four goals, which would've been enough for them to win three games on this list. They had four goals at the end of two periods against Boston's three. Unfortunately, the Bruins scored just over one minute into the third period to tie the game, and scored two more within the next 10 minutes of game action to take a commanding 6-4 lead. An empty netter sealed it.
The one time their offense showed up in a Game 7, their goaltending faltered. Frederik Andersen gave up six goals on 35 shots, wrapping up what was mostly a shaky series for him. To win a Game 7, oftentimes you'll need your offense and defense to show up. For Toronto, they've only gotten one or the other in most cases.