If you had not heard a thing about Kurtis (from Alberta) before the Toronto Maple Leafs won Game 5 of their first-round matchup against the Boston Bruins, get ready to have him pop up on your social feeds.
The Leafs, who entered their game against Boston facing a 1-3 series deficit and a win-or-go-home situation, defeated the Bruins 2-1 in OT in an effort that allowed Toronto to extend their series for at least one more game scheduled for Thursday, May 2.
Leafs superfan Kurtis, a resident of Alberta and whose man cave is a sight to behold, celebrated his team’s victory against the Bruins after making a bold bet on the team before Game 5 as he seemingly bought tickets for Game 6 before the Leafs won their April 30 game.
Yeah, yeah, yes!” Kurtis screamed after the Game 5 OT winner to the person filming him while decked in full Leafs gear, helmet and gloves included. “Go Leafs!
“See you Thursday, Toronto!”
Maple Leafs Win to Live Another Day
It took the Leafs more than 60 minutes of hockey to pull off the victory against the strong Bruins, but that’s exactly what they did after Matthew Knies scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
Nobody said it was going to be easy for a struggling Toronto squad entering Tuesday, April 30, trailing the Bruins 3-1 in their first-round series and facing two absences, one forced and the other head coach Sheldon Keefe‘s decision.
The Leafs ruled out 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews before puck drop with an illness he couldn’t overcome before Game 5. On the Leafs’ net, instead of usual starter Ilya Samsonov, there was backup Joseph Woll making the third postseason star of his short, three-year NHL career.
Woll entered Tuesday’s contest with a horrible 0-2-1 record against the Bruins career-wise along with an ugly .865 save percentage in games played against Boston. All he did on April 30, however, was stopped puck after puck allowing just one goal and saving the other 28 shots he saw.
“Very happy to be in the net. It was pretty special,” Woll told reporters after the Game 5 win on April 30. “I had the time of my life out there. [Boston] is a place where I played a lot of big games, and to come in here and play the Bruins in an elimination game, it’s pretty special.
“I thought from the drop of the puck our team had a different level of urgency and made me calm back there.”
The game-winning goalscorer of the day, Leafs’ Knies, acknowledged the victory while revealing everybody in Toronto was confident in the team’s chances of pulling off the feat and staying alive in the first-round series ahead of Game 6 in Toronto.
“We’re focused on just living to fight another day,” Knies told reporters in his postgame press conference sitting next to Woll. “There wasn’t any quit. There wasn’t any heads down low. I think everyone was focused on doing their job when it came time.
“Everyone’s excited to just go back.”
Auston Matthews Ruled Out for Game 5, Questionable for Game 6?
Toronto’s best player and top goalscorer through the regular season, center Auston Matthews, was ruled out of Game 5 because of an undisclosed illness.
Considering the nature of the game, which is a win-or-go-home one for the Leafs, it’s fair to say whatever ailment is affecting Matthews must be serious.
Matthews skated on Tuesday morning “for approximately eight minutes” before the Leafs’ optional practice ahead of Game 5 scheduled for later on April 30, according to Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.
NHL Insider Chris Johnston captured Matthews on the ice the morning before the game, confirming Kloke’s postgame report information.
Johnston appeared on TSN’s OverDrive to discuss Matthews’ injury status on April 30 ahead of Game 5, reporting the forward was “highly doubtful to play.”
Without Matthews, the Leafs enjoyed the best game of their first-round series by Mitch Marner, who stepped up and leveled up following the Game 4 bench beef and heated exchange of words with Matthews and fellow forward William Nylander.
Leafs and Bruins will play each other once again on Thursday, May 2, in Game 6 of the first-round series between both teams in another win-or-go-home type of contest for Toronto, which still trails Boston 3-2.
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