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David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins shakes hands with Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs after Game Seven of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Ranking the Maple Leafs’ Recent Game 7 Losses By Level of Heartbreak

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Ben Fisher | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 3:50 PM ET

Seven is an unlucky number for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sure, it hangs from the rafters in honour of two legendary defencemen, King Clancy and Tim Horton, and was also worn by former Maple Leaf greats like Lanny McDonald and Gary Roberts. It is, however, a number that carries some baggage in the context of the franchise’s recent playoff struggles.

Dating back to 2013, the Maple Leafs have lost seven — yes, seven! — Game 7 heartbreakers. If the club’s first-round defeats are proof that they are not legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, then their abysmal Game 7 record is proof that they only come up short in the biggest moments. Of course, not all Game 7 losses are created equal. The lingering pain from each loss inevitably varies according to the expectations placed on the team at the time, coupled with how a series played out and, ultimately, the ensuing fallout.

Now that the dust has settled on the most recent crushing Game 7 loss in Round 2 to the Florida Panthers, here’s a look at all seven such losses from the smallest to the biggest gut punch. Should be fun, right?

7) Boston Bruins, 2018 First Round

While this wasn’t the Maple Leafs’ first Game 7 encounter with the Boston Bruins (a name we will mention often), it was the first involving the current core. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander were still in their early 20s and coming off a surprise playoff appearance the year before (a six-game loss to the Washington Capitals). In the 2018 Playoffs, however, they would become familiar with the Bruins.

After a rude introduction that saw Boston outscore the Maple Leafs 12-4 in the opening two games and eventually take a 3-1 series lead, Toronto rallied back to force Game 7. The Maple Leafs responded to a 3-2 first-period deficit by scoring two second-period goals to take a 4-3 lead in the contest. Unfortunately, they collapsed in what was an all-Bruins third period, getting outscored 4-0 en route to a 7-4 loss.

This marked the end of the road for many long-time Maple Leafs, including Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, and Leo Komarov. However, the club’s new foundation was still in the early stages, not to mention still on affordable rookie contracts. Any feelings of disappointment stemming from the loss were quickly offset by optimism for what looked to be a sunny future.

6) Boston Bruins, 2019 First Round

We can point to 2018-19 as the season when the Maple Leafs’ fortunes should have changed, Bruins rematch and all. By this point, the young trio of Matthews, Marner and Nylander had been through two playoff battles and were no longer inexperienced rookies. More significantly, by signing John Tavares, the club had announced that they were built to win now. First up was an opportunity for revenge against Boston.

Unfortunately, Toronto instead received a healthy dose of deja vu, losing in seven games to the Bruins for the second consecutive season. This time around, the Maple Leafs managed a 3-2 series lead, but failed to close out Game 6 at home. There was no back-and-forth in Game 7. The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead before Tavares cut the lead in half. However, that was all the offence they mustered against goaltender Tuukka Rask, as Boston scored an insurance goal early in the third and added two late empty-net goals for a commanding 5-1 clincher.

By their third straight first-round exit – and second consecutive loss to the Bruins – fan frustration set in. Suddenly, rookie deals were coming up along with the sense of urgency for growth and development. On top of all that, Brad Marchand and the Bruins were quickly moving up the public enemy rankings among Maple Leafs fans.

5) Montreal Canadiens, 2021 North Division First Round

On paper, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2021 North Division Playoffs was hitting rock bottom for the Maple Leafs. In what was their first postseason clash with Montreal in more than 40 years, Toronto extended their string of first-round futility by blowing a 3-1 series lead to their biggest rivals. Furthermore, they came in as the division champions, having collected 77 points compared to the Canadiens’ 59 in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.

By Game 7, Toronto didn’t have much fight left. They were unable to solve goaltender Carey Price until a meaningless Nylander goal in the game’s final two minutes. By that time, Brendan Gallagher, Corey Perry, and Tyler Toffoli had all scored to ensure a massive upset by the Canadiens en route to the Stanley Cup Final.

This loss should have been more crushing for Maple Leafs fans than it was, but context is key. Fans were not in the building due to the ongoing pandemic, and cross-border travel regulations had forced a restructuring of the divisions into an all-Canadian North Division. Heck, even Toronto’s divisional triumph that season hasn’t been treated with much significance, as it was rarely cited as any kind of historical precedent as the club chased – and ultimately attained – the Atlantic Division crown last season.

The weird circumstances around the 2020-21 campaign don’t entirely erase the humbling defeat, but it does make the series less real and more like some kind of fever dream.

4) Boston Bruins, 2024 First Round

The prospect of another playoff battle against the Bruins brought a mixture of trepidation and hope in 2024. Boston might have had the Maple Leafs’ number in recent postseason matchups, but Toronto had reached the second round in 2023 and seemed better equipped to handle the physicality of their rivals with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves.

All that new growth and grit amounted to nothing more than another opening-round loss to the Bruins. The Maple Leafs fell into a 3-1 hole and managed to rally back to tie the series, but Game 7 continued to haunt them. Although Nylander gave Toronto a third-period lead to break a 0-0 stalemate, Hampus Lindholm and the Bruins made sure that it was short-lived. David Pastrnak broke Leafs Nation’s heart by coming through with the overtime winner.

Despite the career-best campaign from Matthews and another strong regular season showing, the end result was ultimately the same for the Maple Leafs: a postseason defeat at the hands of Boston. The fallout c ost head coach Sheldon Keefe his job. The Bruins appear to be entering a rebuild, so it’s unlikely the Maple Leafs will have a chance at revenge anytime soon.

3) Tampa Bay Lightning, 2022 First Round

Despite all their Game 7 defeats, rarely have the Maple Leafs lost a deciding contest on home ice. In 2021-22, the franchise set a regular-season record with 115 points on the strength of Matthews’ 60-goal season. Coming out of the pandemic and still seeking a second-round playoff berth, it seemed like Toronto was positioned for a breakthrough.

The Maple Leafs opened the series with an emphatic 5-0 victory. The two teams exchanged wins the rest of the way, bringing the series back to Scotiabank Arena for Game 7. What had all the makings of a triumphant victory at home over the defending two-time Stanley Cup champions turned out to be anything but, as Nick Paul scored two goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 of 31 shots en route to a 2-1 win for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Maple Leafs’ Game 7 heartbreak in 2022 came in front of their fans at home, as Nick Paul and the Tampa Bay Lightning outlasted Toronto 2-1 to advance. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Toronto was neck-and-neck with Tampa Bay all game, just one more lucky bounce or a Vasilevskiy miscue would have ousted the reigning champs. Who knows, maybe a victory would have enabled them to follow the Lightning’s path to the Cup Final in 2022.

2) Florida Panthers, 2025 Second Round

The freshest wound of the bunch is also one of the most devastating. This was the last hurrah for the Core Four – Marner has since joined the Vegas Golden Knights. Would he still be a Maple Leaf had Game 7 gone differently? Maybe. But the lopsided 6-1 loss at home proved to be the final nail in the coffin for an era of Leafs hockey that held so much promise.

On one hand, it should sting just a little less knowing that the Panthers were good enough to go on and repeat as Cup champions. On the other hand, it’s hard to ignore their relatively-easy path through the rest of the postseason and wonder what could have been had Toronto showed up for Game 7 as they had in their 2-0 Game 6 victory.

Ultimately, this proved to be one Game 7 loss too many, and Marner and team president Brendan Shanahan became collateral damage. Meanwhile, Florida has spent this summer retaining all three of their big-name free agents (Sam Bennett, Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad), meaning that any Maple Leafs success in 2025-26 will almost certainly go through the Panthers.

1) Boston Bruins, 2013 First Round

Twelve years removed from the Maple Leafs’ Game 7 collapse against Boston in 2013 feels like an outlier and a product of a bygone era. In many ways, it is. Morgan Rielly, the organization’s longest-tenured player, had yet to make his NHL debut, meaning that no current roster player was part of this series. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that long ago and was too significant to be ranked anything but first.

The Maple Leafs had rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit, while Cody Franson (two goals), Phil Kessel, and Nazem Kadri had combined to give the Maple Leafs a 4-1 stronghold on the Bruins in Game 7. But Toronto wasn’t the only team that could deliver a comeback. Boston scored three times in the final 11 minutes of the third period to send the game to overtime. They rode a wave of momentum to an OT winner from Patrice Bergeron (assisted by Marchand).

The current Maple Leafs likely aren’t burdened by that collapse, but many fans have scar tissue from that dramatic, harrowing series. Toronto has a 0-7 record across 12 years of critical, deciding games (not including the best-of-five defeat at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020 Qualifying Round). By now, Maple Leafs fans are surely hoping their team can get the drama out of the way going forward and take care of business earlier than Game 7.