It’s a winner-take-all matchup between the听海角社区官网Maple Leafs听and Florida Panthers on Sunday night in Game 7 of this second-round playoff series at Scotiabank Arena.
The Leafs haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference final since 2002 when they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games. The Hurricanes are waiting to meet the winner of 海角社区官网and Florida for Game 1 of the East final on Tuesday.
Follow our live blog for updates throughout the day and live commentary with Star columnist Bruce Arthur starting at 7 p.m.
Maple Leafs marvel at Mark Scheifele鈥檚 courage after dad鈥檚 death
When Mark Scheifele took to the ice on Saturday night for the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas, playing through the grief of his father鈥檚 death, he had the hockey world鈥檚 attention, admiration and sympathy.
鈥淢y heart goes out to him and his family,鈥 Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said before Sunday鈥檚 Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. 鈥淭he courage you show to play that game, and he played well. It鈥檚 a terrible situation, you feel for him. But I understand why he played, I really do. That鈥檚 a tough day for everybody.鈥
Scheifele did it not just to help his team but to honour his father, Brad, whose death was announced the morning of Game 6 against the Stars. Scheifele scored, but the Jets lost in overtime with Scheifele serving a penalty at the time of Thomas Harley鈥檚 winner, which sent Dallas to the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Jets were eliminated. The handshake line was more emotional than most.
Forget the past. Maple Leafs fans still BeLeaf
A quick search of the word “BeLeaf” on any social media platform on Sunday morning shows where the minds of many Maple Leafs fans are at ahead of Game 7.
Leafs fans are used to having their hearts broken. And yet, many are making it clear that they firmly believe their team can finally exorcise their playoff demons and beat the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.
If any fans are looking for some positivity, look no further than the Leafs fan known as Hockey Illuminati, who always finds the most obscure reasons to be convinced that the Leafs are due for a win.
“For those who do not believe ... we do not accept your energy,” he says.
IT GETS DONE THIS TIME 鉁婐煆
Meanwhile on Saturday Night Live, Scarborough native Mike Myers closed out the show’s 50th season while wearing a 海角社区官网Maple Leafs shirt.
As the closing credits rolled, he turned his back to the camera to reveal the words 鈥渟upport your local hockey team鈥 written across the back.
Thank you, Scarlett Johansson, Bad Bunny, Mike Myers, and RaiNao! Goodnight!
鈥 Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl)
The Leafs are looking for their first Game 7 victory since 2004 tonight, and they have a chance to do it on home ice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 excitement for our group, playing at home here in front of our crowd,鈥 said Leafs coach Craig Berube. 鈥淧assionate crowd. Passionate fans. Passionate city.”
Fans in attendance at Scotiabank Arena will have light-up bracelets waiting for them at their seats. Hopefully for them, there will be plenty to cheer about.
Maple Leafs pre-game notebook: Knies 'good to go' and home-ice advantage
Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies is ready go to go for tonight鈥檚 winner-take-all Game 7 against the Florida Panthers.
All the Leafs were present and accounted for at today鈥檚 morning skate at the Scotiabank Arena, with Knies taking usual his spot in line rushes with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
鈥淗e鈥檚 good to go,鈥 said Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube.
There was concern after he took a hit from Aaron Ekblad in Game 6. He finished the game but was used only sporadically after that. Berube said he 鈥渁nticipates using him鈥 like he normally would.
Also in today’s pre-game notebook:
The Leafs fought all year for home-ice advantage, and have it tonight. They believe it鈥檚 going to help.
With Winnipeg, Washington and Vegas all second-round casualties, the Leafs are the highest seed remaining in the playoffs.
Matthew Knies expected to play in Game 7, Berube says
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stops Leafs forward Matthew Knies in Game 6 on Friday.
AP Photo/Lynne SladkyMatthew Knies, who had an injury scare against the Panthers in Game 6, is expected to play in Game 7 on Sunday, Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters.
Knies was on the ice and playing with his usual line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at the team’s morning skate.
Matthew Knies out for the morning skate
鈥 Kevin McGran (@kevin_mcgran)
Knies took a reverse hit from Aaron Ekblad in the second period on Game 6. He left the game in obvious discomfort and played sparingly in the third period.
鈥淚 used him in situational play more than anything,鈥 Leafs coach Craig Berube said after the game. 鈥淒own the stretch (I asked him) if he was good to go or he wasn鈥檛 good to go. So it was more for me just talking to him on the bench to understand where he was at the time.鈥
Knies played just 13 minutes on Friday while averaging over 20 minutes per game throughout these playoffs. He has five goals and two assists in 12 playoff games so far.
Why the Maple Leafs鈥 Game 7 challenge resonates from Bay Street to Broadway
Fans celebrate a goal by Max Pacioretty (67) as the Leafs beat the Panthers 2-0 in the 6th game of round 2 of the playoffs.听听
Richard Lautens / 海角社区官网StarAs Sunday鈥檚 Game 7 looms after the Maple Leafs flew home Saturday to rest and prepare, a fan would have been excused for believing there鈥檚 something unusual in the air.
No, not the smell of stinking rich owners cackling at the windfall of another home playoff gate at Scotiabank Arena. That鈥檚 the in-house fragrance nobody even notices anymore. We鈥檙e referring to one of the best sports stories of the spring, when unexpected celebrations have broken out among the long-suffering supporters of a legacy franchise based in a financial centre that considers itself a sporting capital.
These are the ghosts the Maple Leafs hope to exorcise in Game 7 against the Panthers
But it could also fit a certain NHL team from the centre of the hockey universe. If the Leafs beat the Florida Panthers in Game 7, they鈥檒l earn their first trip to the Eastern final since 2002.
These are the ghosts the Maple Leafs hope to exorcise in Game 7 against the Panthers
Leafs John-Michael Liles pays the price along the boards when he’s crushed by the Bruins’ Daniel Paille during 3rd period action December 8, 2013.
Rick Madonik/海角社区官网Star鈥淚t was 4-1.鈥
That simple sentence resonates deeply within the soul of today鈥檚 generation of Maple Leafs fans. It hearkens back to the 2013 first-round series played by the Phil Kessel-era Leafs that turned a three-goal third-period advantage into a 5-4 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins 鈥 on goals with 10:42, 1:22 and 51 seconds remaining.
It鈥檚 the granddaddy of Game 7 heartbreak. It was also the beginning of the end of that era of Leafs, with Brendan Shanahan hired as team president a year later. But the core has gone through its share of heartache in winner-take-all contests.
How the Maple Leafs are preparing for Game 7 against the Panthers
Maple Leafs defenceman Simon Benoit greets his goaltender Joseph Woll after the Game 6 win in Florida.
Icon Sportswire Icon SportswireFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.鈥擶illiam Nylander walked up from the beach and sat in a chair in the shaded patio outside the team hotel. Brandon Carlo was already there, feet up. Simon Benoit joined them within minutes.
It was just idle chit-chat among them, some phone time, while they waited 鈥 in no rush, really 鈥 to get on the bus that would take them to the airport for a flight back to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs will play the biggest game of their season on Sunday night: Game 7 against the Florida Panthers.
The winner moves on to the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. The loser will feel like a season was wasted.
Auston Matthews scored the winner in the third period as the Maple Leafs shut out the Florida Panthers 2-0 to force Game 7 in their second-round playoff series. (May 17, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
鈥淲e stayed overnight here so we can at least relax for a while and rest,” said coach Craig Berube, on the one-year anniversary of his hire. 鈥淚t’s just getting away from it for a bit here and relaxing, and then getting some rest. That’s really important, because we’re going to need the energy in Game 7. Rest is really crucial right now.鈥
If there was a template of the game that听Craig Berube has been preaching,听none fit it better than Game 6 against the Panthers in Florida on Friday
If there was a template of the game that听Craig Berube has been preaching,听none fit it better than Game 6 against the Panthers in Florida on Friday
More so perhaps for Matthew Knies. He took a big hit from Aaron Ekblad in the second period of Game 6 on Friday and played only sporadically after that. When Berube met the media on Saturday morning, he had yet to receive a medical update.
鈥淚 will today, though, at some point,鈥 said Berube. 鈥(I’ll learn) how we’ve got to proceed going forward here with him.鈥
Knies, the youngest Leaf at 22, is an important component on the top line and power play.
鈥淗e touches every part of the game,鈥 said Berube. 鈥淗e scored some big goals for us. He’s been a very good player in the playoffs here and throughout the season.鈥
The Leafs worked all year to get home-ice advantage 鈥 winning the Atlantic Division was an oft-stated goal 鈥 and the reward is sleeping in your own bed on the night before the game, having the backing of the home crowd, and last change among the on-ice tactics.
鈥淚t’s exciting,鈥 said Leafs forward Scott Laughton. 鈥淲e did our job here. We still have a job to do. It’s always fun. Game 7 at home in Toronto. It’s pretty electric, so it’s going to be exciting and we’ve got to be ready to go.
鈥淓very shift, every puck battle are so important in these situations ... every play matters.鈥
The Leafs took care of business and forced Game 7 with a pitch-perfect 2-0 win on Friday night. It was the recipe Berube likes: keep the game close, then break it open in the third period. Goals by Auston Matthews and Max Pacioretty did just that.
Now the Leafs are giving off vibes that they are all calm, cool and collected. No one is on edge. No one is showing any signs that the pressure is getting to them. They’re exuding a quiet confidence, which is all anyone can ask between games.
If Game 5 against the Florida Panthers was lost thanks to paralysis by analysis, the Leafs suffered no such affliction in Game 6.听
If Game 5 against the Florida Panthers was lost thanks to paralysis by analysis, the Leafs suffered no such affliction in Game 6.听
The last time the Leafs made it to a conference final, they bowed out in five games to Carolina in 2002. The last time they won a Game 7, it was over the Ottawa Senators in the first round in 2004. They are 12-15 all-time in Game 7s, 7-3 on home ice.
While many Leafs have only experienced Game 7 disappointment, a few recent additions have the opposite experience. The last Game 7 Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Steven Lorentz played in won them the Stanley Cup in Florida.
鈥淚’m trying to help the team out in any way I can,鈥 said Ekman-Larsson. 鈥淚’m a positive guy. I’m trying to be positive and trying to keep the room light and cheer them on.鈥
Of course, their ex-teammates on the Panthers had that same success.
鈥淧ersonally, I enjoy them,鈥 said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. 鈥淎s you get older, you enjoy the more unusual events of your life. I think you’re more aware of them. So Game 7 is cool.鈥
Maurice perhaps best summed up what separates Game 7s from the rest of the playoffs.
鈥淵ou want to win in four,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou do, 100 per cent. But the Game 7s, you’ll remember.
鈥淭here’s not a lot of them. They’re more intense, but there’s a freedom in Game 7 that’s not anywhere else. On both teams you’ve got guys dealing with stuff, physical stuff. And they will say, ‘I just got to play one more game.’ Now if they get to play one more game after that, they’ll deal with that then. But in the moment in the warm-up, whatever they’re dealing with becomes far more mentally manageable. So everybody goes, and everybody goes hard. There’s a freedom to Game 7 that’s not like any other.鈥
The game is at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena. The final hours leading up to it might feel like an eternity.
鈥淵ou wait around for it all day, which is a little bit painful,鈥 said Berube, whose St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in a Game 7 in 2019. 鈥淏ut once it gets going, it’s great. You’re in the moment. There’s a lot of emotion going on in the game, a lot of intensity. As the head coach, it’s important to stay calm and keep your players directed in the right way and staying calm, too.
“But it’s a lot of fun.”
Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs see the light and stay alive in Game 6. Now they have to do it again
听Auston Matthews opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs with their season on the line in the third period of Friday night’s Game 6 against the Panthers in Florida.
Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesSUNRISE, Fla.鈥擬aybe the Maple Leafs found what they鈥檇 been missing on the way to Friday鈥檚 do-or-die Game 6.
As head coach Craig Berube reeled off an inventory of areas in need of improvement in the wake of Wednesday鈥檚 humiliating 6-1 loss in Game 5, that sent the Leafs to South Florida on what was easy enough to cast as a death march, most of the coach鈥檚 list of demands amounted to fundamental stuff. The Leafs, Berube said, needed to skate, because they 鈥渟tood around and watched鈥 too often Wednesday. They needed to compete harder, because they were in the midst of a three-game playoff losing streak in which they were losing far too many puck battles. But beyond all that, Berube offered another piece of advice as his team attempted to stave off elimination.
鈥淵ou have to enjoy the moment,鈥 said the coach. 鈥淭his is what guys play for.鈥
So, for all the grim whispers around this team and the cacophony of social-media doomsaying online, Friday鈥檚 morning skate in nearby Fort Lauderdale was occasionally accompanied by a joyous whoop from one smiling Leaf or another. And Friday night鈥檚 2-0 win saw the Leafs do what their coach suggested they do: shake the weight of the world off their slumped shoulders and play freely, as though the game is fun. Because winning certainly is.
鈥淚t is fun. It鈥檚 hockey. It鈥檚 competition. It鈥檚 what you dream of as a kid growing up, playing in games that matter,鈥 Chris Tanev, the Leafs defenceman, said before the game. 鈥淪o we need to embrace the moment, enjoy the moment and live in the moment.鈥
Auston Matthews scored the winner in the third period as the Maple Leafs shut out the Florida Panthers 2-0 to force Game 7 in their second-round playoff series. (May 17, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
A game after Berube lamented how his team was guilty of 鈥渙verthinking鈥 as the Panthers clobbered the Leafs in a game that inspired boos at Scotiabank Arena, it was 海角社区官网that caught the Panthers flat-footed more than once with the season on the line. This was a tight game, with not much separating the sides. But ultimately it was the Leafs preying on Florida mistakes that made the difference.
Auston Matthews scored the game鈥檚 opening goal on a feed from Mitch Marner after Florida鈥檚 Aaron Ekblad bobbled a breakout pass at the home team鈥檚 blue line with 13:40 remaining in the third period. It was Matthews鈥檚 first career goal in 11 second-round playoff games, and it came on his 24th shot of the series. But it couldn鈥檛 have come at a better time.
AUSTON MATTHEWS PUTS THE LEAFS IN THE LEAD!! 馃槫
鈥 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
鈥淚鈥檝e had some good opportunities all series,鈥 Matthews said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just going to continue to shoot and believe the next one鈥檚 going in.鈥
After Max Pacioretty beat Florida defenceman Nate Schmidt in a sprint to the net front and scored on a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann to make it 2-0, a team that looked dispirited in Game 5 was on the way to being rejuvenated by victory in Game 6. Joseph Woll鈥檚 22-save shutout, the first of his playoff career, sealed the deal.
The Leafs are now 7-8 when facing elimination in the Shanaplan era. That they鈥檙e 0-5 in Game 7s听鈥 hey, at least they鈥檝e got another chance to prove themselves in Sunday鈥檚 winner-take-all contest at Scotiabank Arena.
What can the Leafs expect?
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun,鈥 said the 36-year-old Pacioretty, who has played in four Game 7s and been on the winning side of three. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait. We鈥檙e going to war.鈥
The Panthers, as defending Stanley Cup champions, will no doubt be installed as favourites. But it鈥檚 not as though Florida hasn鈥檛 shown vulnerabilities. As Panthers coach Paul Maurice said in the lead-up to Friday鈥檚 game, Florida hasn鈥檛 exactly figured out how to plug the holes that have allowed the Leafs to find good scoring chances on Sergei Bobrovsky. And for all the outcry about Toronto鈥檚 flat performance in Game 5, Maurice pointed out that, according to Florida鈥檚 analytics, it was far closer than the lopsided score suggested.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e in alone on us a bunch of times,鈥 Maurice said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e getting rid of all of (Toronto鈥檚 chances), but that鈥檚 why Sergei is what he is to us. That鈥檚 how important he is. To completely prevent it, we would have to completely change how we play, and we鈥檙e a little far down the road for that now.鈥
The Leafs have often played well in moments when large swaths of their fan base have written them off, and Friday鈥檚 game was no different. 海角社区官网supplied a sharp opening period, outshooting the Panthers 7-2 thanks to a defensive approach that kept the opponent to the outside and prioritized cutting off shooting lanes. The tireless Tanev blocked more shots in the first period (four) than Woll was required to stop (two). The Leafs blocked a series-high 31 shots all told, and managed the puck to near perfection.
鈥淲e played a simple game tonight, and we were determined,鈥 Berube said. 鈥淭hat stands out to me more than anything听鈥 determination.鈥
Florida tilted the ice in the second period, when referees somehow missed the moment Florida captain Aleksander Barkov inserted his stick underneath Matthews鈥檚 visor听鈥 a clip that required Matthews to make a momentary trip down the tunnel for treatment. So it was understandable that Matthews was irate when he was called for high-sticking Ekblad in the midst of a second-period 海角社区官网power play. For all that, the game was scoreless heading into the second intermission. Patience was required, and the Leafs showed plenty. If Game 5 was lost thanks to Toronto鈥檚 paralysis by analysis, the Leafs suffered no such affliction in Game 6. That鈥檚 a step in the correct direction en route to a chance at Game 7 redemption.
Berube, who鈥檚 2-1 in Game 7s as a head coach with a win that includes the Stanley Cup clincher with St. Louis in 2019, was asked what鈥檚 in store on Sunday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e fun,鈥 Berube said, speaking of Game 7s. 鈥淚 don’t know how players think nowadays, but when I was growing up, and all the people that I knew growing up, they always dreamed of playing in a Game 7 鈥 Everything’s on the line. We gotta come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did (in Game 6). It’s not fancy. It’s just competing. It’s direct. It’s simple hockey.鈥
Leafs faithful look forward to Game 7 after a crucial 2-0 win on Friday
A massive crowd of fans dressed in white and blue clustered together in Maple Leaf Square outside Scotiabank Arena, waiting for the puck drop at 8 p.m. They shouted, waved towels, shook noisemakers. They were grinning听鈥 they believed the Leafs could make it happen and force a Game 7 back here on Sunday night.
After a scoreless first and second period, the optimism turned to nerves.
Then Leafs captain Auston Matthews broke the game open with a third-period goal, and the throng of 海角社区官网supporters erupted. Later in the third, 海角社区官网forward Max Pacioretty made it 2-0, the final score of a crucial Game 6 against the Florida Panthers.
鈥淚鈥檓 buzzing with excitement,鈥 said Sarah Arshad, a self-described 鈥渉uge鈥 Leafs fan, after the game. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so incredible, especially after the last game. They were playing so, so well, and coming out with those two goals and winning was just the icing on top of the cake.鈥
Auston Matthews scored the winner in the third period as the Maple Leafs shut out the Florida Panthers 2-0 to force Game 7 in their second-round playoff series. (May 17, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
At the beginning of the game, fans were cautiously optimistic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the playoffs,鈥 said fan Josh Wulff, whose collection of Leafs memorabilia has reached 鈥渘ot even funny鈥 levels.听鈥淚f you don鈥檛 come to play, you鈥檙e not going to win. Let鈥檚 hope the boys bring it tonight, and let鈥檚 bring the cup home.鈥
If there was a template of the game that听Craig Berube has been preaching,听none fit it better
After the first period, with still no goals in sight, the crowd’s energy died down, but fan Evan Dantas remained upbeat. “We鈥檙e playing physical, we鈥檙e playing fast, we鈥檙e not shying away,” he said. “We鈥檙e taking it to them, so if we keep the pressure on, if we keep outshooting them鈥 we鈥檙e going to win the game.鈥
The game wore on, 0-0. 鈥淚鈥檓 a little stressed out,鈥 admitted fan Ireland Hosick. 鈥淚t鈥檚 looking a little too even right now. The first half the Leafs were on top. The second half the Florida Panthers were on top. This game is way too even. I鈥檓 thinking overtime, maybe.鈥
Then, a reprieve: Matthews scored. Maple Leaf Square went wild. They shook each other by the shoulders, threw their popcorn in the air, and grinned up at the big screen. When Pacioretty doubled the lead, fans knew it was a done deal.听
Fans celebrate the Auston Matthews goal Game 6 of the second round between the Leafs and Panthers on May 17, 2025.
Richard Lautens/海角社区官网StarThe Game 6 victory forces a win-or-go home Game 7 on Sunday in Toronto. But the Leafs have seen their fair share of playoff heartbreak in recent years. 海角社区官网is 2-13 in series-clinching games since 2018.听
That year, against the Boston Bruins, the Leafs had a 4-3 lead heading into the third period of Game 7 before allowing four unanswered goals. In 2019, again against the Bruins, they had a 3-2 series lead and then lost two straight games. A year later, they lost in the bubble after a historic comeback in Game 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, technically not even qualifying for the playoffs.
They went up 3-1 against the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and then lost three straight. 2022 was a repeat of 2019, but that time to the Lightning, who they beat in the first round of the following year听鈥 only to lose in five games to the Panthers in the second round. Finally, last season, they stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to the Bruins, yet again, before losing in overtime in Game 7.
The Leafs entered Friday night staring down elimination, down 3-2 in their best-of-seven second-round series against Florida. After winning the first two games at home to go up 2-0, the Leafs lost both on the road in Florida’s Amerant Bank Arena before suffering a 6-1 shellacking in the pivotal Game 5 on home ice.听听
Fans hope Sunday will be different.听
鈥淥h my God, I鈥檓 so excited,鈥 says Hazel Kibria, who has played hockey and watched the Leafs for many years. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 even sure if we were going to win, but I had hope for everyone 鈥 I鈥檓 just really excited about this one.”
Leafs vs. Panthers Game 6 recap: 海角社区官网wins 2-0 with goals from Matthews and Pacioretty, will return home for Game 7
Auston Matthews celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates during the third period of Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena on May 16, 2025 in Sunrise, Fla.
Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesThis live blog is no longer being updated.
罢丑别听Maple Leafs听and Panthers听are now tied 3-3 in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs听after 海角社区官网won Game 6 on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
Passing on the 'passion': How Leafs fans buckled up for this playoff run by taking on a wrestling-inspired tradition
Fans across the city 鈥 and beyond 鈥 have been passing a WWE-style belt from one superfan to another after every game, win or lose, celebrating team spirit and forming a unique connection with the club.
Submitted photosIt started with the team. After every win, a Maple Leafs player would hoist a WWE-style belt, passed from one to the next. It was a symbol of grit. A sign of effort. A badge of honour.
But this playoff run, the tradition has spilled into the stands.
Dubbed the 鈥淧assion Belt鈥 online, the Leafs introduced the replica championship strap for fans before the playoffs began. Fans across the city 鈥 and beyond 鈥 have been passing it from one superfan to another after every game, win or lose, celebrating team spirit and forming a unique connection with the club.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty spectacular to see how passionate Leafs Nation is,鈥 said Eric Pronio, who had the belt for Game 5 in the Leafs鈥 opening-round series against the Ottawa Senators. 鈥淚 like to think I’m a pretty big Leafs fan. And then there’s just another level every other day. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.鈥
Fan Eric Pronio carries the belt.听
suppliedLeafs fans have loved the team鈥檚 championship belt since players started handing it out in 2022. But because the Leafs didn鈥檛 announce who got it after each win, fans had to dig. Reporters usually had to ask players directly. With no official record, fans built online trackers to follow the belt鈥檚 journey 鈥 and when they couldn鈥檛 find the answer, some messaged reporters for the inside scoop.
Pontus Holmberg and Calle J盲rnkrok are expected to return to the Leafs lineup while coach Craig Berube said he believes in his two struggling stars.
Pontus Holmberg and Calle J盲rnkrok are expected to return to the Leafs lineup while coach Craig Berube said he believes in his two struggling stars.
As the belt鈥檚 popularity grew,听the team began posting the recipient on social media after each game to keep fans in the loop. And now, they鈥檝e extended the tradition.
So far this post-season, 12 fans have had the Passion Belt 鈥 one for each game played. The hand-off usually happens at the Maple Leaf Square tailgate outside Scotiabank Arena, though accommodations can be made for fans who want to stay anonymous.
Each recipient chooses who to pass the belt to next, and is encouraged to pick someone based on positive social media content 鈥 ideally outside their immediate friend group.
Fans Pronio and听Abowat with the belt.听
suppliedBilal Abowat, who passed the belt to Pronio, says he鈥檚 been a Leafs fan for at least two decades. He made sure to bask in the glory during his time holding the belt.
As a wrestling fan, he brought it with him wherever he could. It even became a talking point at work. His mom was so intrigued, she posted it on Facebook. Before handing it off, he brought it to a pre-game dinner, where nearby diners were so impressed they tried it on for photos.
Dubbed the 鈥淧assion Belt鈥 online, the Leafs introduced the replica championship strap for fans before the playoffs began.
supplied鈥淚t’s a great initiative to really get fans involved,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 have a ton of jerseys at home. I have a ton of merch from the Leafs, but a belt is something that鈥檚 really cool and unique. I think it’s really cool to mimic our favourite players on the team.鈥
Elizabeth Malcolm, who lives in Ottawa, is the belt鈥檚 current holder. She was shocked 鈥 but excited 鈥 when her friend asked if she鈥檇 accept it.
It wasn鈥檛 a death blow, but the Maple Leafs鈥 humiliating 6-1 loss to the Panthers on Wednesd…
Her brother drove from Barrie to take her to the tailgate. At the Square, fans kept asking where she got it. One even showed her an eBay listing, thinking that鈥檚 where it came from. (It鈥檚 available from the online NHL shop for $905 before taxes.)
“There were a bunch of kids that were just reminding me why I like sports,”听Malcolm said, who’s driving back to the Square Friday night to pass on the belt. 鈥淭hey were just there and still watching, hoping that the Leafs would do better while everyone else was, like, grumbling and leaving. So it was cute to have kids ask how I got it and where it’s from. And when I say I got it from the team, they go, 鈥榃ow! That’s cool.’ I’m like, 鈥榊eah, it is cool.鈥櫶
Elizabeth Malcolm drove from Ottawa to get the belt at Maple Leaf Square.听
suppliedJoe Ferguson also held the belt during the opening round against the Senators. Since the belt was 鈥渞eally heavy,鈥 he usually wore it around his waist, taking photos with it at different 海角社区官网landmarks and even while walking his dog.
He said it was an honour to be recognized by another fan on social media for what he posts online.听
鈥淵ou get to kind of feel like you’re an听actual champion for a couple of days,鈥 he said.
Joe Ferguson also held the belt during the opening round against the Senators.听
SuppliedBeyond this year, fans want to see the tradition continue for the next playoff run. But as the team faces elimination on Friday, down 3-2 in their best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers, they hope it this year.听
What happens to the belt if they are eliminated? Fans will have to wait and see.
鈥淯ltimately, I want to see it get passed around until the end of June,鈥 Pronio said, 鈥渨hen the boys lift the Cup.鈥
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