Author Archives: Dominic Broadwood

Longing for glory: a look at Canada’s 31 year Stanley Cup drought

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It’s been 31 long years since Lord Stanley’s mug has been raised on Canadian soil. The last team to achieve this feat was the 1992-1993 Montreal Canadians led by future hockey hall of fame inductees Patrick Roy and Dennis Savard. That’s not to say a Canadian team hasn’t come close since. In the three decades since there have been six finals that have included a Canadian team, and we’re going to look back at all of them.

 

In the year following Canada’s last Stanley Cup, the Vancouver Canucks went on a magical run to the 1994 finals where they would come face to face with the president trophy winning New York Rangers. Vancouver was expected to be outmatched by a strong Rangers team that included various legends of the game, most notably captain Mark Messier. The first game at Madison Square Garden ended in a Canucks overtime win after forward Martin Gelinas tied the game with a minute remaining in regulation, igniting a spark of hope across Vancouver. This hope was swiftly quashed by New York who took the next three games somewhat handedly. After battling back to win the next two, Vancouver sat just one game away from taking the cup back to Canada for the second straight season. Unfortunately the rangers would ultimately pull out the win in game seven, 3-2 in what would unknowingly be the first of many American championships to come.

 

It took ten years for a Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup final again when the Calgary Flames took on the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was an iconic finals for Canadian hockey fans but not for the right reasons. Late in game six in a series that Calagry led 3-2, Martin Gelinas scored what appeared to be a goal that very well could’ve secured Calgary their first Stanley Cup since 1989. However the ruling on the ice was no goal, despite the replays seemingly showing the puck was definitively in the net. This would go on to be one of the most controversial calls in Stanley Cup playoff history and is still heavily debated to this day. The Lightning would go on to win the game and the series in seven, leaving a sour taste in mouths across Canada.

 

After a lockout season the year prior the 2006 finals would be played between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers. Similarly to the 1994 Canucks, the Oilers would go down 3-1 in the opening four games of the series. Edmonton would claw back in game 5 with a shorthanded overtime winner by Fernando Pisani, this being the first shorthanded overtime winner in Stanley Cup finals history. Game six was a four to nothing Oilers shutout leading to yet another Canadian finals game seven in Carolina. The Hurricanes would lead by two heading into the third, but an early third period goal by Edmonton’s Pisani left the crowd on edge. Carolina would seal the game late with an empty net goal by Justin Williams who would go on to be known for his game seven heroics. The Hurricanes captured their first Stanley Cup in franchise history leaving Canada now 0-3 in finals since 1993.

 

For the third straight season a different Canadian team would manage to make the finals. The 2007 finals would be played between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks with both teams matching up rather equally. To the surprise of many, Anaheim walked over Ottawa in five games, although three of the Ducks four wins were decided by one goal. The fifth and decisive game was an Anaheim blowout six to two. Canada was handed its third finals loss in three years.

 

The 2011 finals would be Vancouver’s second appearance on this list and third finals in franchise history; they were previously 0-2. This finals is regarded by many as one of the most entertaining finals over the last couple decades as both Boston and Vancouver hated each other. Not only on the ice, but even off the ice. The players on both sides would throw shots at each other in the media and some of this still is occurring to this day. The series started off electrically for Vancouver as they jumped to a two to none series lead with a 1-0 game one win and an overtime winner in game two just eleven seconds in. Boston would come back with two blowouts at home to knot the series at two, going back to Vancouver. The teams would trade home victories once more leading to a seventh game in Vancouver. Once more Vancouver was left stunned as the Bruins came up victorious 4-0, inciting literal riots in the streets of Vancouver.

 

It would be ten years before a Canadian team would make it back to the finals, when The Montreal Canadiens went on a miracle run in a shortened COVID season. After majorly upsetting all three teams that stood before them in Vegas, Toronto, and Winnipeg, the Lightning would quickly give Montreal a reality check. The Lightning took down Montreal in five games once again crushing the hopes for a Canadian Stanley Cup parade.

 

No Canadian team has come close since, however this year has promise. Four Canadian teams have made it into this year’s NHL postseason. The Jets, Canucks, Leafs, and Oilers as they all finished in the top end of this year’s standings in what may be Canada’s best chance at a cup in recent memory. Only time will tell if 2024 will be the year that the Stnaley cup comes back to Canada, and back home.

Crucial game 2 ahead for Maple Leafs

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After falling 5-1 in their series opener, Toronto looks to bounce back ahead of Tuesday’s meeting against the Boston Bruins. Going into game two, the Maple Leafs have some key points they need to address if they hope to knot the series up heading back to Toronto. First and foremost they need to address their goaltending situation. Going into these playoffs there was a giant question mark surrounding who would be the Leafs game one starter. Ultimately head coach Sheldon Keefe went to the teams on paper starter in Ilya Samsonov who led them through Tampa in last year’s postseason. This was a somewhat controversial decision as the netminder, who signed a one year three and a half million dollar contract extension this summer, has struggled greatly throughout this season posting a .890 save percentage and a 3.19 goals against average. The decision was reflected in the game as the Bruins handled Toronto on the scoreboard despite advanced analytics suggesting this game was perhaps Toronto’s to win. Now I’m not one for relying on all of the fancy advanced statistics to plead my arguments, however this may be a case of Toronto getting let down by their backend. The Leafs led Boston in expected goals 7.21 to 3.71 via moneypuck.com. I wont get into the nitty gritty of what this means exactly, but to streamline it, Toronto dominated the Bruins in high scoring chances. It doesn’t help Samsonov’s case that Jeremy Swayman pulled out of a legacy game between the pipes for Boston giving them the 1-0 series lead. With Boston possessing unquestionably the best goaltending tandem in the NHL the leafs will need Samsonov to step up after a disappointing game one or turn to Joseph Woll if they want any chance of breaking down the Bruins.

Next up is the defensive gaffs. Moving forward in this series, it is crucial for Toronto to tighten up the defensive play and not not allow so many lapses in their own zone. Boston possess one of the better defensive cores in the league with a top pair of McAvoy and Lindholm, whereas the Leafs have a subpar defense that pales in comparison and has taken a significant step back from previous seasons. Finally they need their big stars to step up after a quiet first game. While Auston Matthews looked like a man on a mission he’ll need help from his supporting cast in Marner and Tavares to crack the fortified Bruins defense and goaltending. A Leafs loss tonight would put them down two in the series, heading back to Toronto where they have been known to struggle at home in the playoffs. Moreover teams that hold a 2-0 series lead go on to win the series about 86 percent of the time. It is a crucial game for the Leafs to win tonight if they hope to stand a chance going back to Toronto.

Why Toronto will slay their Boston demons

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It’s been nearly five years since the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins faced off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, yet the familiarity is still as prevalent as ever. Over the past eleven years these teams have met in the postseason on three separate occasions. Arguably each meeting getting increasingly more heartbreaking for fans of the six. The first of these meetings in the 2013 lockout season was expected to be a Bruins walkover and perhaps with the power of hindsight the Leafs loyal wish that it was.

Against all odds the Maple Leafs managed to push Boston to the brink in a seven game series in which Toronto had a three goal third period lead. As the voice of Boston, Jack Edwards put it: “They’ve stabbed the dagger and ripped it out of the heart of the Toronto Maple Leafs”. Fast forward five years, the two teams would once again meet in round one with a far deeper Leafs team, yet history would repeat itself and they would fall in the seventh game in Boston’s TD garden. Any guesses as to what happened when Toronto got their rematch the following year? You got it, once again Leafs nation was left high and dry from falling to Boston in game seven. Boston however,  wasn’t Toronto’s only problem as the Leafs would fall in seven games to Montreal and Tampa, extending their 19 year first round curse. That was until last year where Toronto finally slayed one of their demons and defeated the Lightning in six games to send them to the second round. Meanwhile in Boston, the Bruins were just 59 seconds away from a Eastern semi final date with the Leafs before ironically in Toronto fashion choking to the Florida Panthers.

Despite the respective fanbases getting teased last year, Boston and Toronto will have their fourth showdown on opening night of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now that we know how we got here, why is this year different? Well for starters Toronto in each of the previous  matchups were labeled as young, inexperienced, and soft. Keeping in mind the Leafs had one of their weaker regular seasons in recent memory, you could make a very strong argument that this Toronto team is built for playoff hockey. Off-season acquisitions of depth grit players like Max Domi and former Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi are expected to be key difference makers if Toronto is to beat their demons. In addition the emergence of young stars like Nicholas Robertson and Matthew Knies alongside 69 goal scorer (nice) Auston Matthews put Toronto as a lethal offensive threat to a relatively shallow Bruins forward core. Although Boston has the edge on the defensive end with superstar Charlie McAvoy and an elite goaltending tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Ilya Samsonov has been known to show up big for Toronto when needed most. The Leafs high end talent; Rielly, Tavares, and Nylander will need to continue to show up in the playoffs as they have in previous years if Toronto wants a chance at breaking down this systematically strong Boston team. The key to success for Toronto in this series will be to outscore the Bruins while getting a big save or two  from their netminder when needed. Make no mistake the Bruins are walking into this as the favorite, however Toronto has more at stake here looking to conquer their final Demon the Boston Bruins.