from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
Beneath the mystery of the disappearance of Auston Matthews, after the unexplained return of William Nylander, after the barking incident and the glove-throwing on the bench went viral, with so much pressure and drama and jobs on the line, the Maple Leafs finally showed up for the Stanley Cup playoffs.It was about time.
The Leafs showed up the way playoff teams are supposed to show up every spring.
It took all of that to turn the regular-season Leafs into the playoff Leafs. They did all that against all odds in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. They scrapped. They battled. They owned the puck. They skated extraordinarily hard. They played with depth and strength and they stayed alive on a playoff night that almost ended their season.
They did so by being the best team on the ice.
The key word being “team.”
It wasn’t just about mammoth scorer Matthews, who didn’t play. It wasn’t just about Mitch Marner, who was among the many who played a strong game for the Leafs. It wasn’t just about Nylander, who hit a post, may have hit another, and was a handful for the Bruins all night. It wasn’t about any individual.
It was about all of them.
Game highlights of Toronto's 2-1 OT can be watched below.