If the Toronto Maple Leafs manage to win their game in Ottawa on Thursday night, they will have simply fulfilled expectations. Securing a series victory in six games after finishing atop the division in the regular season is considered the standard and most probable outcome heading into the matchup.
However, regardless of whether they seal the deal in Game 6 or ultimately lose the series, the events of Game 5 will forever be significant to the legacy of this core group of players (the Core Four plus Morgan Rielly). This match serves as a perfect representation of how they`ve performed during the “Years of Recurring Heartbreak” in the playoffs.
That Tuesday night game felt eerily similar to Game 7 against Montreal or Game 5 against Columbus. Just swap the uniforms and goaltenders, and the overall feeling and the result were identical. Decades from now, watching any brief snippet of Game 5 against Ottawa will vividly recall the sensation of those past defeats.
In that fifth game, the familiar issues resurfaced: the opposing goaltender appeared outstanding, the team`s key players were completely shut down, and the power play unit was ineffective. The team struggled to get to the front of the net and instead of aggressively fighting for every scoring opportunity, they settled for mediocre shots before retreating to the locker room. This pattern was followed by the usual somewhat hopeful comments to the media – after all, what else are they supposed to say?
Tristan Blackwood