The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be kicking themselves after letting this chance get away from them. On Thursday, during the Maple Leafs’ game against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto had been able to mount a comeback to get their elimination Game 5 into overtime, but disaster struck within the first minute of the extra frame.
A costly turnover in the Canadiens offensive zone turned into a 2-on-0 situation for Montreal with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki leading the charge. After a few passes back and forth, Suzuki was the one to get the puck past Jack Campbell to spoil Toronto’s comeback and stave off elimination with the 4-3 win.
It’s as devastating as it sounds if you’re a Maple Leafs fan, as Toronto had the chance to put Montreal away for their first playoff series win since 2003-04, but instead bungled away the game on this misplay.
THE OVERTIME GAME WINNER FOR THE CANADIENS!#GoHabsGo | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/HIgu8h7sWK
— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) May 28, 2021
To make things worse, the Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the last 35 minutes of the game to force overtime, putting the Canadiens on the brink of elimination when this blunder occurred in the first minute of overtime.
Toronto will have another chance at knocking off Montreal on Saturday when the two teams face off in Game 6, but this one has to sting for the Maple Leafs and their fans.
