from Nick Kypreos at the Toronto Star,

It’s just so typical of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A new level of frustration had been reached, with many wanting their beloved hockey team to rip the Band-Aid off by losing in Game 5 to get the much-needed organizational overhaul underway.

On Tuesday night in Boston, they gave everyone reason to hope again.

“We were playing for our lives and wouldn’t be denied tonight,” Max Domi said after the game.

Here we go again. Leafs Nation has lived through so many consecutive seasons that ended in utter disappointment that it’s hard to muster up optimism for an epic series comeback against, of all teams, the archrival Bruins. It’s fair if they’ve convinced themselves that even the impressive overtime win in Game 5 without Auston Matthews will only prolong the inevitable.

When Toronto was down 3-1 in the series, the thought process was not if changes are going to be made but which major changes ownership would start with. At the top with president Brendan Shanahan? Or maybe with head coach Sheldon Keefe?

But they won Game 5 and at least for a moment — before Game 6 on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, where they’ve lost six straight playoff games — the mood has improved.

So let’s be hypothetical for a second. After abysmal and embarrassing losses in three of the first five games of this first-round series, what would it take for this Leafs team to earn respect back from fans and media alike?

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