How many series clinching games have the Leafs lost?

TORONTO (AP) — Nick Paul scored twice, including an incredible individual effort on the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night to win their first-round playoff series.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto, which hasn’t reached the second round since 2004 and is now 0–9 in elimination games over the last five postseasons after also losing 4-3 in Game 6 at Tampa, Florida, two nights earlier. Jack Campbell had 23 saves.

The Maple Leafs were once again unable to push through and finally flip a long, ugly narrative of playoff failures for a franchise that has now lost its last seven series, including six over the last six years.

Toronto is now 7–3 all-time at home in Game 7s, including a loss at Scotiabank Arena last season after blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.

Down 1–0 after 20 minutes in this one, the Maple Leafs appeared to tie the score at 11:28 of the second when John Tavares roofed a shot on Vasilevskiy, but the goal was waved off after Toronto defenseman Justin Holl was whistled for interference.

Campbell had to make a couple of desperation stops on the ensuing penalty kill to set the stage for Rielly’s equalizer off a setup from Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews to score his third of the playoffs at 6:35 to send the crowd of 19,316 into a chaotic frenzy.

The goal was the first surrendered by Vasilevskiy and the Lightning in their last six series-deciding games.

William Nylander then missed high on a breakaway and the Tampa goaltender robbed Matthews with the Maple Leafs buzzing.

But Paul scored his second of the night—and second ever in the playoffs—with 3:28 remaining in the period on a terrific play where he kicked the puck from his skate to his stick.

Tampa nearly made it 3–1 late in the period when Kucherov hit the goal post from the slot.

Vasilevskiy was under siege throughout Toronto power play just over six minutes into the third, but kept the home side at bay despite some furious pressure.

Toronto continued to press inside an anxious, tension-filled rink as the clock ticked down.

The Maple Leafs, however, just couldn’t find a way through with Campbell on the bench for an extra skater to complete another chapter of playoff disappointment.

Both teams had terrific opportunities for early breakthroughs, but Vasilevskiy and Campbell were there at every turn.

Tavares nearly scored on a great chance in close where Vasilevskiy shot out his left pad before the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner denied Marner. Campbell then held the fort on a Lightning power play on a couple of great looks for the visitors.

Brayden Point, who scored the winner in Tampa’s Game 6 victory to extend the series, was injured late in the first when his right leg got caught underneath him as he fell to the ice. The forward—in agony as he headed down the tunnel to the locker room—tried to return for the second period, but shut it down after a brief shift.

The Lightning went up 10 moments after Point went down in the first when Paul, who had a number of chances in Game 5 with his team ahead before Toronto roared back, scored his first. Campbell made the initial stop on Ross Colton’s one-timer off the rush that nicked Rielly’s stick, but the rebound fell to Paul at 1:36 as Toronto surrendered the first goal for a fourth straight game.

The Lightning were playing in just their second Game 7 since the start of the 2020 playoffs after defeating the New York Islanders 1–0 on home in the semifinals last June.

This was Toronto’s first Game 7 at home with fans—the club’s 2021 loss against Montreal was played in front of 550 health-care workers because of COVID-19 restrictions—since 2004, when Joe Nieuwendyk scored twice to oust the Ottawa Senators.

The Maple Leafs had an opportunity in Game 6 to close out their first-round series against the Lightning. However, Brayden Point had other ideas, potting the OT winner to force a Game 7 with a Lightning 4-3 win.

On Saturday, at home in front of a raucous crowd at Scotiabank Arena, they had another chance to eliminate the Lightning, but they failed to do so losing 2-1 in Game 7.  

Another year, another heartbreak, another playoff failure for the Maple Leafs.

Toronto is now 0-10 in series-clinching games since 2018 and are still looking for a first-round series win, a feat that has not happened since 2004. 

The Maple Leafs have been good for a number of seasons now, making it to the postseason six years in a row. However, it's now six straight first-round exits. 

A loss in six games to the Capitals was followed by back-to-back losses to the Bruins in seven games. The Maple Leafs failed to get past the qualifying round in 2020, losing to the Blue Jackets before their epic crumble last year, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Canadiens. 

Toronto has heard all the jokes and comments. The team knew what was at stake and what lay ahead if the team failed yet again to advance — and as the buzzer sounded on Saturday, reality set in that the nightmare continues.

MORE: NHL playoff bracket 2022: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for postseason

When was the last time the Maple Leafs won a playoff series?

You have to go back to the 2004 playoffs to find the Maple Leafs' last postseason series win. 

The Maple Leafs defeated the Senators in seven games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. However, they fell to the Flyers in the Conference Semifinals in six games to end their season. 

Toronto has had plenty of chances to win a series since then. Most famously, the Maple Leafs were up 4-1 in the third period of Game 7 against the Bruins in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. The team gave up three goals, including two in the final minute and a half, to force OT before Patrice Bergeron completed the comeback with the OT winner. 

There also was the debacle mentioned before from last season, when the Maple Leafs had three games and needed just one more win to knock out their rivals from Montreal. 

When was the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup?

The last time a Maple Leafs team hoisted the Stanley Cup was in 1967. Dave Keon helped lead the team to the win, as Toronto took down rival Montreal in six games to grab the franchise its 13th Stanley Cup. 

It's been all downhill from there. The Maple Leafs' drought of 54 seasons without a Stanley Cup is the longest streak in NHL history.

Not only that, but they have never even made it back to the Finals since then. Yikes. 

MORE: Which team has won the most Stanley Cups?

Maple Leafs recent playoff history

Here is a look at the complete history of Toronto's postseason results during the salary cup era. 

Author(s)

Bryan Murphy is an NHL content producer at The Sporting News.

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