Win over Panthers gives Maple Leafs another chance to shed dreaded label

"Just a gutsy win all around," Matthews said in a postgame news conference, per theScore's Josh Wegman. "I thought we battled hard all three periods. It took until midway through the third to break through, but I thought all throughout our lineup, everybody played hard, everybody competed." 

The Maple Leafs will need more competitive fire to avoid another playoff disappointment.  

Despite boasting a talented squad with stars like Matthews, the Maple Leafs have stalled in the playoffs over the past five seasons. 

In the first round of the 2021 playoffs, they blew a 3-1 lead to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. The Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated them in Game 7 in the first round of the following postseason.

Last season, the Boston Bruins beat the Maple Leafs in Game 7 in the first round, their sixth consecutive loss in a Game 7. 

With the series heading back to Toronto, however, the Maple Leafs may have a decent chance of snapping that streak. According to NHL.com, they're 7-3 in Game 7s played at home in their history. Matthews doesn't seem to care about that. 

"The job's not done yet," he said. 

Clearly, the two-time All-Star wants to lift his team into the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2002. That would help the squad shed the non-clutch label.