How embarrassing.
The Toronto Maple Leafs got completely hammered by the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-3, in their NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round Game 1 contest Tuesday night.
In fact, it was such a bad loss for the Maple Leafs that they accomplished something the franchise hasn’t in an incredible 30 years.
Maple Leafs allowed 7+ goals in a home playoff game for the 1st time since April 29, 1993.
They lost 7-3 to DET in Game 6 of 1993 Norris Division Semifinals. pic.twitter.com/K4OXnFkyLY
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 19, 2023
It’s a pretty embarrassing feat, sure, but you also have to give the Toronto Maple Leafs some credit here.
The fact that they haven’t done this in 30 years is pretty impressive. Allowing seven goals in a game isn’t exactly a rarity, especially with the explosive offensive hockey that we see today, so I have to give Toronto some kudos for holding this streak for 30 consecutive years. Just think about it … that’s tough to do.
As far as the rest of this series goes, is anybody really going to bet against the Tampa Bay Lightning? (RELATED: REPORT: More Huge Rule Changes Could Soon Be Coming To MLB)
Don’t get me wrong, Toronto has been awesome this year, but this is still the same Lightning who have been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning two of them, in the past three years.
The Lightning will either be back in the Stanley Cup Finals, or the Eastern Conference Finals at the very least.