Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Maple Leafs using Bruins' past choke job as rallying cry

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 4/30/24

The Toronto Maple Leafs face long odds in their first-round playoff match against the Boston Bruins. They enter Tuesday night's road contest down 3-1 in the series.

Multiple Leafs players said on Tuesday morning, however, that the team isn't giving up and is using their opponent's 2023 playoff collapse against the Florida Panthers as a rallying cry.

Jake McCabe on Bruins blowing a 3-1 series lead to Florida last year: “Yeah, it's definitely been brought up. Trying to put pressure on their group over there. Obviously they're sitting comfy at 3-1, and we want to put pressure on that. It starts with a win tonight.”
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) April 30, 2024

Jake McCabe says the Leafs believe that if they win Game 5 they can put some doubt in the minds of the Bruins: “Yeah, for sure. That’s the plan. Start with one, keep rolling.”
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) April 30, 2024

Ryan Reaves: "You gotta get excited for these ones.... Until the series is over, it's not over. You know, this team gave up the exact same 3-1 lead last year. So, sports is a crazy thing. I think we've all seen some crazy comebacks in our lives."
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) April 30, 2024

The Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy for the most regular-season points in the NHL last spring during head coach Jim Montgomery's first year at the helm. After setting an NHL record with 65 wins and 135 points, though, they fell to the Panthers in a seven-game classic in the first round.

Boston held a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series lead going into Game 5 before suffering an overtime loss and a 7-5 defeat in Game 6. On their home ice, the Bruins were down 2-0 in Game 7 before scoring three straight goals. Florida then tied it late in the third period and stunned the Bruins in overtime for a 4-3 victory.

The Bruins dominated Toronto in Game 1 in Beantown, 5-1, before five-time All-Star Auston Matthews' game-winner gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 victory in Game 2. Boston bounced back with a 4-2 road victory in Game 3 on Wednesday and a 3-1 road triumph in Game 4 on Saturday.

Matthews — who led the NHL in goals this season (69) — is questionable for Game 5 due to an illness.

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