On April 29, 2023, the Toronto Maple Leafs came out victorious in the first round of the NHL playoffs since 2004. For 19 years, the Maple Leafs have been defeated over and over from the first round of the playoffs. However, this past Saturday, the city of Toronto was jammed with hockey fans jumping and cheering in a huge mosh pit for their home team to bring back the win in Game 6. 

The game started out with little action in the first until the Tampa Bay Lightnings took 11 shots on goal, but Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov saved his team in the first period. Late into the second period, Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews received a pass from T.J. Brodie and took a one-timer shot putting the Leafs up 1-0. Early into the third period, the Tampa Bay Lightnings put a shot on net with their captain Steven Stamkos in front to jam it in and tie the game up. In overtime, Maple Leafs captain John Tavares scored with a brilliant spin-a-rama shot against the Lightning to end an excruciating stretch of playoff futility for the Maple Leafs. 

Kyle Dubas, the team’s general manager, who has long been criticized for persisting with his underachieving roster, exploded to his feet in his arena box, jabbing the air like a prizefighter. Behind the bench, Coach Sheldon Keefe was mobbed by his assistants, and the players jettisoned their sticks, clambering over the boards and piling into their teammates on the ice. After the game, fans back in Toronto were climbing light posts, setting off fireworks, and honking their car horns all through the night.