vs Los Angeles

Only the Maple Leafs could find a way to make a two-goal lead feel like a slow-motion car crash. Bobby McMann and John Tavares provided a brief, flickering moment of hope that served as a cruel precursor to a very familiar kind of pain. Despite Tavares potting a second goal, the team decided that 15 shots on net was plenty of work for the game, while graciously allowing Los Angeles to fire 37 pucks at the net like they were practicing at a shooting gallery.

Naturally, a lead is a dangerous thing in Toronto. Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala started the inevitable comeback, and by the time Alex Laferriere tied it in the third period, the script was already written. Quinton Byfield ended the misery in the opening moments of overtime, because why drag out the inevitable? It was a masterclass in being outshot more than two-to-one at home and still dragging things to extra time just to maximize the emotional damage. The parade planning committee can safely remain in hibernation for the foreseeable future.