Auston Matthews makes his way to his dad in the stands to share a special moment following Game 6 victory
Well, ladies and gents - they did it. The Leafs FINALLY did it. On the heels of a thrilling 2-1 OT win in Game 6, the Buds were able to dispatch of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1 to clinch their first 2nd round playoff berth since the 2003-04 season. Feels good to say, doesn't it?
As special as that moment was for the scores of Leaf fans who have been clamoring for some playoff success over the last two decades, it pales in comparison to what it means to the players, who have poured their blood, sweat and tears into this series and gutted out a hard-fought win after facing a ton of adversity in Round 1 and overcoming it all.
The guys in the locker room were very quick to say, following the win, that the job's not done, but you can tell just how much this win meant to the team. The 1st round monkey is finally off their backs and for Auston Matthews, you can tell just how much it meant to him to move on in the playoffs for the first time in his career. If you need some evidence of that, here's a special moment that Matthews shared with his father in the stands following the win:
The Leafs will face a tall task again in Round 2, as they'll either draw a Boston Bruins team who finished the regular season with the highest amount of points in NHL history or a Florida Panthers team who will have just knocked off the Bruins in Game 7. Either way, there's no easy out for the Leafs in Round 2.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 2259 ANSWERS Auston Matthews makes his way to his dad in the stands to share a special moment following Game 6 victory Who would you rather see the Leafs play in Round 2, the Bruins or the Panthers? | ||
| Panthers | 1402 | 62.1 % |
| Bruins | 226 | 10 % |
| Don't care, bring on whoever | 631 | 27.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
