It’s like for every embarrassing game an NHL team has, the Toronto Maple Leafs have one that can match it.
On Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks gained a 5-2 lead to the St. Louis Blues only to give the game away and lose 6-5 in overtime. I thought to myself “Hmm. The Blues had a huge comeback that resulted in a 6-5 overtime win. That sounds awfully familiar.”
That’s because it happened before, except to the Leafs and much worse.
November 29, 2000, almost exactly 15 years ago. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who had a winning record might I add, were hosting the St. Louis Blues at the Air Canada Centre.
Gary Valk put the Leafs up 1-0 in the first. Tie Domi, Mats Sundin, and Dave Manson scored in the second to put Toronto up 4-0. Tie Domi scored his second of the game (he had a three-point night!) just under three minutes into the third and the Leafs were absolutely hammering the Blues 5-0. Game over, right?
Wrong. It’s the Leafs.
Just under two minutes later, Chris Pronger scores to make it 5-1. You can even see Curtis Joseph, who was the Leafs’ goalie that evening, react as if you say “Ah shucks! My shutout has been ruined!” Oh, CuJo. You don’t know the half of it.
Just over two minutes after that, Alexander Khavanov scored on the power play to make it 5-2 and everyone in the ACC who isn’t nose-deep in sushi is now nervous.
About one-and-a-half minutes after that, still less than halfway through the frame, Shayne Corson takes a holding call. Al Macinnis scores just six seconds into the power play, it’s 5-3, and at this point we have a hockey game.
Michal Handzus scores with 14:20 left in the frame and with a heartbreaking, unimaginable, delightfully Leafy 25 seconds remaining, Khavanov’s second of the game ties things up at five.
To finish it all off, as if they had just stopped trying, the Leafs allowed the overtime-winner from Jochen Hecht just 18 seconds into overtime. The Blues had completed the comeback.
This game was actually one of the first times I ever got grounded. My reactions to each St. Louis goal got angrier and louder until finally peaking in one profane crescendo that woke my parents up. Let’s throw in this fun fact: The Leafs earned a point for that loss. So did the Blackhawks in their Wednesday night collapse. There should be some kind of rule where if you suck bad enough they should revoke the pity point.
Just thought the young ones would like to hear this story and the not-quite-as-young ones would like (or hate) to relive it. Tune in next time a team stinks and I recall a time when the Leafs stunk worse.
