What had been a raucous crowd at Scotiabank Arena for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round was quickly muzzled by the Tampa Bay Lightning after they took an early two-goal lead. Toronto had been badly outplayed in the first period, and ghosts of previous postseasons shortcomings began rearing their ugly heads.
But everything changed after Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza spoke during the intermission.
"'Spezz' got everyone in the room and said some stuff," Matthews said. "I think the main message was that it wasn't our best period, and you have to go out there and get back with a really good purpose."
Looking to alter the narrative of past playoff failures, they completed a furious comeback capped by Matthews' go-ahead goal at 13:54 of the third period that gave Toronto a 4-3 victory and a 3-2 lead in this best-of-7 series. The Maple Leafs forward celebrated by cocking his right arm twice before violently punching it in the air.
It was if he'd shaken a monkey off the back of an entire team, at least for one night.
The message from Spezza was received.
"It felt good, just the crowd and energy, there is nothing like playoff atmosphere and especially here in Toronto, so it was pretty special," Matthews said. "It's a big win for us, but there is still some work to be done. So, it's a good night to have battled back down two goals, never losing] hope and just competing. But like I said, the job is not done for us."
***[RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]*
The Maple Leafs are one step closer, however. The series shifts back to Tampa for Game 6 at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN) with the two-time defending champion Lightning needing back-to-back wins to avoid elimination.
For a franchise that has not won a playoff series since 2004, finishing the job has been elusive for Toronto. It will be up to its best players to be exactly that and help close the books on their reputation of coming up short at crunch time.
At least the victory was a good starting point. Heeding Spezza's words, it was the Maple Leafs' top guns, led by Matthews who led the charge. This is Toronto's sixth postseason series with forwards Matthews, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander, and defenseman Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs have lost the previous five. Captain John Tavares, who signed with Toronto in 2018, has been part of the past three defeats.
The Maple Leafs found themselves trailing by two goals 6:11 into the game after forward Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman scored 52 seconds apart. They were outshot 14-4 in the first period.
But the next 40 minutes were a different story.
Goals by Tavares in the second, then Rielly and Nylander 1:13 apart in the third gave Toronto its first lead of the game. Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh tied it 3-3 at 8:17, setting the stage for Matthews' heroics.
