Toronto Maple Leafs win first playoff series in 19 YEARS as they beat Tampa Bay Lightning in 2-1

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally exorcised the postseason demons that have haunted the storied franchise for nearly two decades with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday to reach the second round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.

John Tavares scored the series winner when he grabbed the puck from behind the lightning net, skated forward before quickly turning back and unleashing a shot that went in through the skate of Tampa Bay defenseman Darren Raddysh.

Perhaps no team entered the postseason with more pressure than Toronto, a talented but long-underperforming club that needed to win a playoff series for the first time since 2004 to avoid loud calls for major organizational changes.

“Obviously it’s a bit of a monkey off our backs and we still have a lot of work to do, but obviously this one feels really great,” said Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

Toronto’s last postseason win came long before the arrival of gifted goalscorer Matthews (2016), explosive winger Mitch Marner (2016) and enduring captain Tavares (2018).

Maple Leafs fans went wild as their team went on to a thrilling win on Saturday

That core trio has endured their share of playoff heartbreak, most recently in 2022 when Tampa Bay defeated Toronto in a decisive seventh game as the Maple Leafs lost their first postseason series for the sixth consecutive year.

And while knocking out a Lightning team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in each of the previous three seasons has taken this group into uncharted territory, it’s also just the first step for a Maple Leafs team with lofty ambitions.

“It’s definitely a bit of a relief to get that done,” Marner said. “But we have to make sure we’re ready because it’s just going to get harder and harder.”

As the best-of-seven series returned to Tampa with the Maple Leafs leading 3-2, the visitors were desperate to wrap things up rather than take their chances in a do-or-die seventh game .

And for once, the Maple Leafs, who had gone 0-11 in series-clinching games since they last advanced, gave their eternally optimistic fan base a reason to celebrate.

Toronto opened the scoring with about six minutes left in the second period when Matthews unleashed a slap shot from the right throwing circle that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Erik Gustafsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates winning Game 6 on Saturday night

The Toronto Maple Leafs are through to the second round for the first time in 19 years

The Lightning tied the score when captain Steven Stamkos, alone in front of the net, fired a rebound with just under 16 minutes remaining.

Tavares’ goal less than five minutes into extra time caused the entire Maple Leafs organization and their fan base to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The Maple Leafs will then face the winner of Sunday’s game between the top-seeded Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.

Elsewhere, the Rangers took a 3-2 series – with Aaron Rodgers in attendance vs. the Devils in front of a packed Madison Square Garden as they beat their local rivals 5-2.