@ Winnipeg

The inevitable collapse seemed right on schedule when Alex Iafallo and Kyle Connor put the Jets up by two, providing that familiar "why do I do this to myself?" feeling. Thankfully, Auston Matthews responded mere seconds after the second Winnipeg goal, because even the Leafs know they have to dangle a carrot of hope in front of us to keep us from changing the channel. Just when a Nino Niederreiter goal in the third period seemed to seal our doom, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Bobby McMann decided to actually play to their potential, dragging this entire circus into overtime.

Max Domi eventually played the hero by finishing the comeback, securing a 4-3 victory that was far more stressful than it had any right to be. We outshot them 37-30, which is a nice stat for the analytics crowd, but mostly it just means we had to work twice as hard to achieve a result that nearly gave the entire fan base a collective heart attack. It’s a gritty road win, and for a brief moment, everything feels fine in Leafland. Of course, I’ve been hurt far too many times to fall for this, so I’ll be keeping my celebratory parade plans on ice until they prove they can win a game without making me question my life choices.