Maple Leafs Tie The Most Embarrassing Playoff Record of All-Time With Game 7 Stinker

With everything on the line in last night's pivotal Game 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs tied an infamous NHL Playoff record that they'll wish they never tied.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had an up-and-down second round series against the Florida Panthers, which started out with them grabbing a 2-0 series lead. Florida then rallied 3 straight victories before the Maple Leafs staved off elimination with a fantastic performance on the road to force a Game 7.

With the fate of the core, several front office members, and the entirety of the last decade on the line, the Maple Leafs came out flat from the moment the puck was dropped last night. Florida held a 22-0 advantage in shot attempts alone in the first 7 minutes of the game before Toronto righted the ship at the end of the period.

Unfortunately, their lone penalty kill was the brightest spot of the game because the Panthers took the game away in the second period with 3 goals in a span of 5 minutes. By the end of the game, the Panthers skated off with a 6-1 victory and in doing so, that allowed the Leafs to match an NHL record.

https://x.com/SNstats/status/1924287979884830799

According to Sportsnet Stats, the Leafs matched the record for largest margin of defeat for the home team in a Game 7. Generally playoff series are tightly contested and the 7th game is usually as close as they come, which could not be said about last night's performance.

Even though it was the farthest the Leafs had gone during the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner era, it was almost poetic how things ended. The game wasn't close, they did it in their own barn, and the fans relentlessly booed them while also throwing more jerseys and hats onto the ice surface.

Massive changes are more than likely coming in Toronto this summer and a Game 7 loss that matches an infamous NHL record was probably the nail in the coffin for several marquee members within the organization.