How exactly do you describe the Maple Leafs’ game last night?
Was it a good win? No — they were dominated for the first 40 minutes.
So was it a bad game they somehow lucked into winning? Not that either. Coming back from a three-goal deficit shows the kind of resilience and “never say die” mentality every contender needs. Just ask this year’s Toronto Blue Jays — you never know where that first spark toward a real run will come from.
The Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 to improve their overall record to 7-5-1. They’ve now won four of their last five — surprising if you listen to Toronto media, but that’s the reality. And within those wins, you can start to see flashes of what will make this team truly elite. Sure, those flashes come in short spurts and single-game bursts, and yes, that’s frustrating. But the bottom line is simple: they’re finding ways to win, and that’s often the first sign that the tide is turning.
The first two periods? Forty minutes of nothing but frustration — hair-pulling, puck chasing, “why am I doing this to myself” hockey. The Penguins controlled just about everything, and there wasn’t much of anything positive to take from it. Down 3–0, it looked like another one of those nights.
And then came the third period.
The Leafs reminded everyone of something that too often gets forgotten: they still have some of the best talent in the world. Auston Matthews broke free behind Sidney Crosby and buried a breakaway to get Toronto on the board. William Nylander followed with a highlight-reel finish to make it 3–2, then unleashed a wicked shot from the point minutes later to tie the game and completely flip the script.
With just over six minutes remaining, Bobby McMann capped the comeback — an unexpected but electrifying goal that sent the crowd into chaos and sealed one of the most improbable Leafs wins in recent memory.
So what do we make of it? The players themselves weren’t impressed postgame, openly admitting they can’t afford to sleepwalk through 40 minutes. That kind of accountability is exactly what you want to hear.
But for fans? Sometimes the simplest truth applies — just win, baby.
And that’s exactly what they did.
.