For just second time in 13 seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs are heading to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Curtis McElhinney finished the game in relief of Frederick Andersen – file photo by Brent Clark
“I’m proud of the guys, I’m excited for the guys, they’ve done a real good job,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “I told the coaches at the start of the year [that] if we got in, it was going to be tomorrow in game 82. So we got in one game ahead of schedule, but to be honest with you, I didn’t know the kids could be this good.”
So the Leafs can coast as so many other teams have been doing this late in the campaign.
With three minutes left in regulation, and the game tied 3-3, Connor Brown tipped in a shot from the point to give the Leafs a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.
“That’s a night I’m sure I’ll remember for a long time,” Brown said. “It was cool for that one to come off my stick. But the way we stuck with it, to give one up going down in the third and to battle back, a huge goal from [Kasperi Kapanen] too. It was just a real awesome night.”
Kapanen scored his first NHL goal for the Leafs.
“Obviously it was something special,” Kapanen said. “Can’t be a better time to score than to tie it up against your old club. It feels pretty good.”
James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak had strikes for the Maple Leafs.
“It’s obviously very exciting for us. It’s kind of funny, I thought the game was a representation of our season where there were some bumps in the road, we responded, and we kept playing and got contributions from everyone up and down the lineup,” van Riemsdyk said.
Auston Matthews sealed the win with an empty-netter for his 40th of the year.
Curtis McElhinney came into the game in the second period after starter Frederik Andersen was bumped in the Toronto crease and was removed for safety reasons.
Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel scored for the Pens.
WATCH: All Penguins vs. Maple Leafs highlights
Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss on saves.
“Obviously they needed the game a lot more than we did, so they came out hard and they got a couple of good breaks. It is what it is,” the Penguins’ Phil Kessel said.
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