Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs confirmed that the Game 7 curse is alive and well. The team hasn’t made it past the first round of the NHL playoffs since 2004 and by now, choking has become their trademark.
The blue-and-white were up 3-1 in the series against their archrivals the Montreal Canadiens but still wound up losing, which tripled the suffering for Leafs Nation. Overtime gave the team a fighting chance in both Games 5 and 6 but it still wasn’t enough.
However, the Buds are no strangers to soul-crushing losses—in 2013, they had a 4-1 lead in Game 7 with under 15 minutes left and the Bruins not only managed to tie the game in regulation but also won. Since then, it’s pretty much been more of the same, in various iterations.
Hundreds of fans resorted to social media to cope with the Groundhog Day-esque cycle of torture the Buds can never seem to escape. Even though it was a painful and heartbreaking night, some turned to humour to cope with the excruciating loss.
The future looks bright for the Canadiens tomorrow night as they get ready to face the Winnipeg Jets in the second round.
