The platform for the Union Station Lakeshore West train is packed, with bodies bumping into bodies as hundreds of people wearing blue and white pile out of the train. There is no denying that fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are loyal, because even in the midst of a five-game losing streak, people are still out in droves to see their team play.
Tugging at the sleeves of the so-called “vintage” CCM Leafs jersey I bought on eBay over a year ago, I brace myself against the bristling crowd. Even if this 1990s polyester nightmare only cost me $60, I’m not willing to sacrifice it to the hockey gods just yet; I’ve got a game to see.
Down in the belly of Union, the crowd only gets worse. It’s five o’clock on a Tuesday evening and everyone who isn’t a Leafs fan wants to get the hell out of Toronto as soon as possible. Commuters in suits give clueless fans dirty looks, darting around huddles of people conversing in the middle of walkways. I can only help but laugh as I dodge a stray arm, shuffling around a horde of impossibly slow walkers. This isn’t my first rodeo, but I still can’t help but find amusement in the sheer level of hatred native Torontonians have for outsiders.
With a belly full of train station Chinese food and a smile on my face, I make my way over to Gate One, where I join an ever-growing line of fans who are bristling with energy. Will this be the night the Leafs break their streak? Or are we doomed to bear witness to another devastating loss?
Inside the arena, the air buzzes with excitement. One of the guys in front of me chirps at another fan who is wearing the opposing team’s jersey. He, like all of us, hopes that the Leafs will beat the St. Louis Blues tonight. We can’t keep going on like this.
Finally, in our seats, the game starts with a roar. While both teams have something to lose, the Leafs have something to prove.
The team is missing their star forward, Auston Matthews, as well as first liner and solid goal-scorer Matthew Knies, so things aren’t looking great from the start. Someone next to me mentions the loss of Brandon Carlo, who, alongside fellow defenseman Christopher Tanev, was recently put on injured reserve. There is no doubt that injury has run rampant this season for the Leafs, with these only being a few of the many players missing from the game.
I start to think that if they weren’t cursed before, it’s hard to believe they aren’t now.
Still, Joseph “The Brick” Woll has taken centre stage in his second game of the season, finally having returned from an absence that kept him from playing alongside his team. He’s a favourite of mine, and Woll also has a history of strong goaltending during the regular season with a save percentage of .909 last year.
Still, the Blues’ first goal comes not long before the start of the second minute of the first period, sending fans into an angry roar of booing in the stands. While Nathan Walker’s shot on net was announced as being unassisted, anyone watching the goal closely could see that William Nylander inadvertently swatted the puck into the net. Still, this didn’t send the home team into a tizzy.
Following an unsuccessful power play for the Leafs, Jake McCabe was able to find the back of the net just before the sixth minute, tying the game 1-1.
The energy in the arena is high going into the second period, with fans hungry for a win. Carlton the Bear, the Leafs’ mascot, has spent much of the intermission shooting t-shirts into the crowd and bags of popcorn and cans of beer have been replenished right in time for the Leafs’ second goal. Nine and a half minutes into the second period, Steven Lorentz, assisted by Samuel Blais and Oliver Ekman-Larrson, manages to squeak another puck into the Blues’ net, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead.
Though this lead doesn’t hold for long, with Dalibor Dvorsky scoring a successful power-play goal and taking the game back to a tie. After fending off another power-play goal and making it through the rest of the second period unscathed, it is time for the second intermission and the Leafs leave the ice.
I’m trying not to bite off my nails; anxiety over the results of the incoming third period is coming in waves… except nothing comes of the third, as both teams fail to find the back of the other’s net. An uneventful end of regulation time leads into an incredibly stressful period of overtime, but William Nylander, looking to redeem himself for his earlier goal, scores on the Blues with just 54 seconds left. The goal is a beautiful one, assisted by John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, who sent the puck across the ice to Nylander. Dodging Dylan Holloway, Nylander was able to tuck the puck right into the net, just barely making it past the right pad of Blues’ goaltender, Jordan Binnington.
The arena burst out into cheers of joy. A win for the Leafs is major after five losses back-to-back.
As we all shuffle out of the arena, grins light up our faces. While this isn’t us winning the Stanley Cup Final, in fact, far from it, it still feels like a massive roadblock for the Leafs to have overcome.
It’s hard to know what the future holds for this team, but tonight? The Toronto Maple Leafs are on top of the world.