The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup playoff season began with a thud on Saturday, following a 5-1 road loss to the Boston Bruins. Before the final whistle, a fan thousands of miles away demonstrated the embarrassment that most Leafs fans were experiencing.
During the fifth inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ game against the San Diego Padres, cameras recorded a fan covering his Leafs sweatshirt with a baseball shirt.
It’s chilly outside in San Diego, probably. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/IvLRDYwbyu
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2024
The Leafs and Bruins, two of the original six teams, have a long and illustrious history that includes multiple postseason meetings. However, the matchup has recently shifted in favor of the Bruins, with their home, TD Garden, becoming a haunted house for the Toronto Leafs.
While Toronto’s postseason record at the building has been 6-7 since 2013, each series has ended in tragic fashion.
In 2013, Patrice Bergeron upset the Leafs with an overtime victory in Game 7. Then, in 2018, Toronto lost another crucial Game 7 at TD Garden, blowing a 4-3 lead by conceding four unanswered third-period goals. Similarly, in 2019, the Maple Leafs were eliminated in the first round for the second year in a row, losing Game 7 to Boston 5-1.
The Maple Leafs still have time to turn things around, but if Game 1 of their first-round series with the Bruins is any indicator, they don’t appear to be in position to break the run this time.
