Maple Leafs panic meter: Are playoff ghosts haunting Toronto again after Game 5 loss vs Senators?

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the only other team in the Eastern Conference that came anywhere close to challenging the first-place Washington Capitals for the top spot in their respective side of the Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket.

In their first-round series against the Atlantic Division-rival Ottawa Senators they looked just the part, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a 12-6 scoring advantage. However, since then the Leafs have been outscored 8-3, with the Senators clawing back to within one win in this best-of-seven series.

On Tuesday, Ottawa downed the Maple Leafs 4-0 on the road. That's left Toronto fans dreading that their greatest fears could be playing out in front of them yet again. The Senators' back-to-back victories while on the brink of elimination were just the eighth such occurrence since 2014. However, only one of those seven previous squads completed the seven-game turnaround victoriously (the 2014 Los Angeles Kings).

Could the Maple Leafs choke away yet another Stanley Cup playoff series?

Toronto fans know all too well how much their team has struggled to close out playoff series. Since 2017, the Maple Leafs have made it to the second round just once (2023). Most notably, they've been eliminated by the hated rival Boston Bruins thrice in that span.

This year it appeared as if the team would exorcise those demons and breeze to the next round over their little brothers in Ontario. But it seems like there's no quit in Ottawa, and Toronto hasn't quite figured out how to shut the door.

Is it a curse? Or is there just something mentally blocking the players from closing things out when it matters most?

Toronto hasn't converted on a power play in its last 30 opportunities on the man advantage during a series-clinching contest. That's a power play with sensationally bad stage fright, and it could cost the Maple Leafs yet again if they can't figure things out during Thursday's Game 6.