Maple Leafs leave history in past to hold off Senators, clinch series

OTTAWA -- This was the type of game Toronto Maple Leafs teams of the past decade would not have won.

This was the type of dramatic postseason fishbowl they had fumbled and bumbled in countless times before, either with mediocre play or self-inflicted wounds.

All of those factors were once again in play on Thursday, setting the stage for another gut-wrenching, disappointing playoff failure that has become commonplace with this franchise.

Only this time it didn’t happen.

This time, they found a way to overcome their own personal demons and the weight of the past to defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round and advance to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

It was only the second postseason series win for Toronto in 21 years, and it was fitting that the unlikely hero was veteran Max Pacioretty, who wears No. 67 -- which just happens to be the year, 1967, that the franchise last won the Stanley Cup.

Fifty-eight years later, their 2025 Cup dream remains alive, thanks to a gutty performance at Canadian Tire Centre.

“I think we’re happy about obviously being in the second round but now our focus is on Florida,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said after celebrating his 29th birthday with a two-goal performance. “That’s where I think our minds are at.

“Have a good night tonight, enjoy the win, then focus on Florida.”

The irony here: Nylander was almost ruled ineligible to play, thanks to a bureaucratic gaffe by the Maple Leafs.

Prior to the opening face off, Nylander was mistakenly listed as his brother, Alex, whose No. 92 was on the Official Game Report, not the No. 88 that William wears. Luckily the mistake was caught in time, allowing the Maple Leafs to make the appropriate correction so William could play according to Rule 5.1 in the NHL rulebook.

The rule states: “Prior to the game, if an official (on-ice or off-ice) notices that a player is in uniform but has not been included on the Official Game Report, the Referee shall bring this to the attention of the offending team so that the necessary correction can be made to the Official Game Report with no penalty assessed.”

Had the error not been picked up once the game started, Nylander would not have been allowed to play and his spot in the Maple Leafs lineup could not be filled.

Coach Craig Berube chuckled about the faux pas afterward, pointing out that Alex Nylander was among 14 players called up from the Toronto Marlies, who recently were eliminated from the American Hockey League playoffs.

“You’re on the sheet there,” he said. “If normal names were up there … but you call guys up there and got confused. It was like 'What the hell?'

“Told the officials, 'It’s Willie, not Alex.'”

Back in 2002, the Maple Leafs weren’t so lucky when they made a similar mistake in Game 5 of their first round series against the New York Islanders. Pat Quinn, Toronto's coach at the time, made a mistake by listing "Mikael Renberg (No. 21)" in the starting lineup instead of Robert Reichel, who was healthy and wore No. 21. The Islanders noticed the error and coyly waited until the game started before bringing the mistake to light, meaning Reichel could not play in the game.

Fortunately, this time, the Maple Leafs averted a potential disaster.

But there were more close calls to come on this night.

Indeed, after building a 2-0 lead on goals by Nylander and captain Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs coughed up that advantage.

First came a goal by Senators captain Brady Tkachuk at 7:28 of the second period, narrowing the gap to 2-1.

Then, at 12:40 of the third, Ottawa tied the game on a potential backbreaker when David Perron shot from below the goal line and banked the puck in off the back of goalie Anthony Stolarz.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Remember, the Maple Leafs came in having gone 1-13 in games in which they could eliminate an opponent in the Nylander-Matthews-Mitch Marner era. Now it seemed that, once again, they'd found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when such an opportunity was in front of them.

Except, whereas Maple Leafs teams of yesteryear would have collapsed in such a scenario, this one bounced back.

“We showed great perseverance,” Stolarz said. “Very grateful the boys were able to pick me up at the end.

“But at the end of the day, too, I let that one go right out of my mind.”

So did his teammates.

Sure enough, just 101 seconds after the Perron goal, there was Pacioretty, finding an opening in the slot and converting a Max Domi feed for the winner at 14:21. Nylander then sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Pacioretty’s tale is one of endurance. He signed a one-year, incentive-laden contract with Toronto prior to the season following a pair of Achilles injuries that limited him to five games during the 2022-23 season and kept him out until Jan. 3, 2024, when he returned to play 47 games with the Washington Capitals. He had missed the final 27 games of the regular season this year and did not return until Game 3 of the series.

As he soaked in the jubilation of the victory, the 36-year-old thought about how close he’d come to hanging up the blades and calling it a career the past several years.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with people in my family and others, and I thought I was done playing a number of times,” he said. “And everyone always supported me to keep going.

“But my story is just one of many, and it’s one that’s public so it’s one that’s talked about. But a lot of resilient guys in this organization, been through a lot as well, so guys like that motivate me to keep going.”

Thanks partially to him, the Maple Leafs are going to the second round for just the second time since 2004.

And they overcame their own haunted history in the process.