The Toronto Maple Leafs are alive in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Tuesday in game five of the first round of the best out of seven Eastern Conference playoff series, the Maple Leafs defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime at Toronto Dominion Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Maple Leafs hero was left winger Matthew Knies, who scored the very first Stanley Cup playoff overtime winner in his National Hockey League career. Knies scored from John Tavares of Mississauga, Ontario and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
The fact that the Maple Leafs got the win was interesting due to the fact that their leading scorer, Auston Matthews, was out because of an illness. In game four, Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner were seen on the bench arguing with one another during a 3-1 Bruins win. Matthews meanwhile did not play the entire third period of game four either.
With the Maple Leafs chemistry among their elite players not in sync, it was Knies and Tavares who carried the Maple Leafs in the extra period. Tavares drove to the net, and it Knies right behind him who was there to pick up the rebound. The series now shifts to Toronto for game six on Thursday. The Bruins still lead three games to two.
