Maple Leafs hope to add win to rich Game 7 history

Toronto Maple Leafs legend David Keon will be in front of his TV in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Sunday night, the Hall of Fame center hoping that his former team will advance to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The Maple Leafs, 12-15 in sudden-death Game 7 situations in franchise history, face the Florida Panthers, 3-1 in a seventh game, in their winner-take-all match Sunday at Scotiabank Arena (7:30 p.m. ET, CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

Down 3-2 to the Panthers in this Second Round series after having been up 2-0, many in Leaf Nation had tumbled off the bandwagon, fans and more than a few in the media having the team dead and buried before Game 6 on Friday in Florida.

But it seems the Maple Leafs weren't ready for a funeral, their inspired 2-0 elimination-game road win having pushed the series to the limit.

Toronto captain Auston Matthews celebrates his third-period goal with teammates Morgan Rielly (l.) and Matthew Knies on Friday in Game 6 against the Florida Panthers.

"I was delighted with the way Toronto played," Keon said on Saturday morning. "They had resolve, they came out and weren't going to be pushed around. It's one of those games where the longer it goes with no score, apprehension sets in. The first goal might be the only goal. But they persevered and came out with the win."
Captain Auston Matthews scored what proved to be the game-winner at 6:20 of the third period, his first goal of the series and first in 11 postseason games against the Panthers.

"I don't know that it relaxed him, but it took some weight off his shoulders, finally scoring," Keon said of Matthews' shot that beat Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. "And it was an important goal. Finally, it happened."

Historical statistics are wonderful grist for discussion, no matter that they are fully irrelevant to the coaches and players on the two teams that will battle to advance to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Toronto Maple Leafs center David Keon turns behind the Chicago Black Hawks net during a 1964 game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

It means nothing that the Maple Leafs have lost six times consecutively in a Game 7, Toronto not having won since their 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Ottawa Senators, or that the Panthers have won two in a row.

Toronto's run of six straight Game 7 losses equals the skid of the Senators, ranked second to seven straight Game 7 defeats suffered by the Colorado Avalanche.

"At some point in time, the Maple Leafs will have to play better in a Game 7 and hopefully that's [Sunday] night," Keon said. "As well as they played [Friday], they'll have to play better on Sunday.

"Playing at home means something, but overall, you just have to be ready to play. The Panthers will be ready and it's going to be a test of wills. Who's going to 'will' it?"

A four-time 1960s Stanley Cup champion with Toronto, Keon won both Game 7s in which he played during his 13 trips to the NHL postseason, both in 1964.

Goalie Johnny Bower anchored the Toronto Maple Leafs to three consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1962-64, winning Game 7 in series in 1959 and two in 1964.

He had a hat trick by scoring at even strength, short-handed and into an empty net in his team's 3-1 Game 7 semifinal win against the Canadiens in Montreal.

Keon laughed about the suggestion that he give that unique feat a name.

"I'll just call it a win," he said, forever more about his team than his individual contribution.

The Maple Leafs would go on to win their third consecutive championship, pushed to seven games against the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. Keon would score in Game 7 of that series as well, the second of Toronto's goals in a 4-0 victory.

Compared to the Maple Leafs, a charter member of the NHL, the Panthers' Game 7 history is tidy, brief but monumental.

Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers celebrates his goal scored during Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.

Florida won its first Stanley Cup championship last season in sudden death, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 at home on a winning goal scored by Sam Reinhart.

Previously, the Panthers had eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 4-3 overtime First Round road win in 2023, fell to the New Jersey Devils in a 3-2 double overtime Conference Quarterfinal home loss in 2012, and knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 3-1 Conference Final road win in 1996.

Toronto's Game 7 history dates to 1941, seven of their 12 victories having come at home.

Three times, the Maple Leafs have won a Game 7 to capture the Stanley Cup, each time against the Detroit Red Wings: 3-1 in 1942, 2-1 in 1945 and 4-0 in 1964. Cup-clinching goals came off the sticks of Pete Langelle, Babe Pratt and Andy Bathgate.

Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky presses the Stanley Cup overhead after the Panthers' 2024 Game 7 win against the Edmonton Oilers. Bobrovsky has a 2-0 Game 7 record with the Panthers.

The 1942 championship was historic in that it saw the Maple Leafs roar back from a 3-0 games deficit to win the Cup in seven, the only time that kind of comeback has been engineered in Stanley Cup Final history.

On five occasions, Toronto has been forced to Game 7 overtime, winning Quarterfinal and Division Semifinal series in 1978 and 1993 and losing semifinal (1950), Conference Quarterfinal (2013) and First Round series (2024).

The Maple Leafs' Game 7 history began with a 2-1 semifinal loss to the Bruins in Boston on April 3, 1941. They won their next two, winning the Cup against Detroit at home then away, lost to the Red Wings 1-0 in overtime in a 1950 semifinal, then won three straight, in 1959 and 1964 semifinals and the 1964 final.

"Sudden Death" Mel Hill, so nicknamed for the three overtime goals he scored for the Bruins en route to their 1939 Stanley Cup win against the New York Rangers, ended Toronto's hopes in 1941, beating goalie Turk Broda at 14:17 of the third period at Boston.

Goalie Turk Broda in a promotional photo taken during practice at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1942. Broda played the first two Game 7s in Maple Leafs history, a loss in 1941 and a win in 1942.

"I grabbed a loose puck," Hill told reporters that night. "I looked around to see who was going to check me, then looked for somebody to pass to. I couldn't see either, so I decided to let Broda have it. I guess he didn't want it, either, so I dropped it into the net."

Goalie Felix Potvin played in five Game 7s for Toronto between 1993-95, three in consecutive 1993 series – a 4-3 overtime win against Detroit, a 6-0 shutout of St. Louis and a 5-4 loss to the Stanley Cup Final-bound Los Angeles Kings.

Toronto's first Game 7 overtime win in 1978 was thanks to Lanny McDonald, who was playing with an injured wrist and wearing a cage bolted onto his helmet to protect his broken nose.

The winning goal at 4:13 of extra time against the New York Islanders in Uniondale, New York, was set up by defenseman Ian Turnbull, the play practiced on occasion.

Goalie Felix Potvin, in action here against the Los Angeles Kings, played in five Game 7s for the Maple Leafs, including three in 1993.

"We needed a little luck to make it happen," McDonald said. "Turnbull brought the puck up the ice and I cut into the middle to spread the defense. He flipped a high pass to me which hit an Islander (Stefan Persson), hit me and dropped at my feet.

"All of a sudden, there was nobody between me and (Islanders goalie Chico) Resch and I needed an instant to realize I was in the clear. Chico came out to cut down the angle and I had to get the puck over his glove, which I did."

So now comes No. 28 in the Maple Leafs' catalog of Game 7s; it's second only to the 31 of the Bruins.

It will be the third time that Toronto has gone the limit on a Sunday, but those seeking divine intervention had best look elsewhere: the Maple Leafs were eliminated in 1975 with a 7-3 quarterfinal loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia, then bounced in 1987 with a 3-0 Norris Division Final loss to the Red Wings in Detroit.

Lanny McDonald shakes hands with New York Islanders' Denis Potvin after having scored the Game 7 overtime winner for Toronto in 1978.

"I think it's very important for Toronto to win now, for the team, the players and the fans," Keon said. "You don't want this to become an annual thing – get by one series then lose the next, especially the next one in seven games.

"They all realize how important it is. Nevertheless, you try to put that in the back of your mind, go out and play your best. Be prepared for what's ahead. Florida has won Game 7s, they know what has to be done. It's a little bit of a learning experience for some of the Leafs, for a lot of them it's not. Maybe they can draw on what they should do and forget about what's happened before.

"I'm looking forward to it. Everybody's got to play, compete, and if they do that, they'll have a chance."

Top photo: Andy Bathgate (l.) and David Keon with the Stanley Cup in their Maple Leaf Gardens dressing room on April 25, 1964. Bathgate scored what would prove to be the Cup-clinching goal against the Detroit Red Wings in this Game 7, Keon scoring Toronto's second goal in a 4-0 win.