If you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan, you’re probably feeling pretty good right now. 

The team that many dubbed the weakest in the 2020-2021 postseason picture has taken the North Division champion Toronto Maple Leafs all the way to Game 7 after clawing their way back from a 3-1 series deficit, and the entire hockey world is buzzing for game day. Sometimes, going into a series as the underdog is nice. You can play loose, and the only expectations on your shoulders can be your own. So far, the Canadiens have proved all the doubters wrong in dramatic fashion. 

If you’re a Leafs fan? You probably don’t feel nearly as good. In fact, you probably feel downright awful, despite the fact that the Leafs still have a solid chance of winning the series tonight. Leaf fans were hoping for a quick sweep of the Habs in four or five games, but their inability to close out a series (they’re 0-7 in their last seven opportunities to eliminate their opponent) has come back to haunt them once again. While Game 7s should be the pinnacle of exciting fan moments, the general consensus among Leaf fans is that they’re downright traumatizing. 

Honestly, we don’t blame them. They’ve seen this before, and they remember how painfully it's ended in the past. 

If you’re a Leafs fan, you might want to avert your eyes as we take a stroll down memory lane and remember each of the Game 7s that the Maple Leafs have partaken in since the year 2000. We won’t factor in the Game 5 loss in last year’s qualifying round as a Game 7, but it basically counts as another  loss seeing as the series was best of five.
 

2019: 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins

The Leafs squandered the opportunity to end the series in 6, Tuukka Rask made 32 saves to shut down the Leafs in Game 7 for the second year in a row. 

2018: 7-4 loss to the Boston Bruins

Many will remember this as the game that Jake Gardiner had one of the toughest in Leaf history with his catastrophic -5 performance, while others will remember this as the game that the Leafs blew a 4-3 lead headed into the third. Either way, it’s a one that many Leaf fans are probably still trying to forget. 

 


2013: you already know what happened in this one against the Boston Bruins

Yeah, it was 4-1 going into the third, and then it was a 5-4 OT loss; arguably the worst in team history. 

 

 

2004: 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators

Hey, that’s a win! This also happens to be the last time the Leafs won a playoff round. 

 

2003: 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers

6-1 losses in Game 7s are beyond underwhelming and deflating, but the Flyers were the heavy favourites to win this series. 

 

2002: 3-0 win over the Ottawa Senators

This was the peak of the battle of Ontario: the Leafs swept the Sens the year before, and they met in the second round. The Leafs managed to beat them in back-to-back seasons thanks to a Curtis Joseph shutout in his last year as a Leaf. 


2002: 4-2 win over the New York Islanders

The Leafs met the Islanders in the Isles' first playoff appearance since 1994, and managed to steal the last game of a back-and-forth series 4-2.

 

2001: 5-1 Loss to the New Jersey Devils 

Despite Curtis Joseph’s fantastic efforts that got them to Game 7 against a stronger opponent, the Devils showed they were the superior team in the seventh game with a convincing 5-1 win. 

 

Game 7, hey fans?

The Maple Leafs will add another chapter to their Game 7 novel tonight against the pesky Montreal Canadiens, where they’ll hope to rewrite their recent history in the contest.