from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,

And then there was one.

Not since the spring of 2004 have the Maple Leafs won a playoff series.

With a 4-0 victory in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, the Leafs are on the brink of changing that narrative.

One more win in the best-of-seven will do it, as the Leafs have taken a firm grip with a 3-1 series lead versus their Original Six rivals and head home full of confidence for Game 5 on Thursday....

“Scoring, defending, checking, all the way through the lineup, the guys dug down,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “These back to backs are tough. I thought a lot of guys were actually better (Tuesday) than (Monday). There were a lot of great efforts all the way through.”

Toronto most recently won a playoff series 17 years ago, when it beat Ottawa in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal. The Leafs then lost in the conference semis to Philadelphia, and since then, have lost their past five series, including the qualifier last August against Columbus.

A win by Toronto on Thursday — or in Game 6 or 7 — and the Leafs will meet the Winnipeg Jets in the second round.

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