The passion that unites us all was on full display during the Toronto Maple Leafs final home game of the season.

The Maple Leafs blew a three goal lead, followed by a two goal lead, losing 6-5 in regulation to the Dallas Stars on Monday night. It was a wild back-and-forth affair, and even though the Leafs came up short, pushing themselves one step closer to securing a top-five draft pick, head coach Craig Berube couldn’t get over the reception his team received following the game.

“The support in Toronto is fabulous. It’s been fabulous as long as I can remember,” said Berube postgame as the Leafs home record finishes at 18-15-8. “It’s going to continue to be fabulous. It’s a great hockey market. It is a great sports town. The fans are awesome here. I talk about it all the time: This is a special place.”

The Maple Leafs put on quite the show in game #81 of the season. The first period they came out flying, which included John Tavares scoring just over two minutes into the game. Tavares has showcased this season that father time isn’t going to be an issue as he enters the later stages of his career. Tavares is now up to 31 goals, and 71 points in 81 games this season. A model of consistency. Berube loves the example Tavares sets for the entire organization.

“It’s impressive. I talk about him all the time with you guys, about his preparation and work ethic. It’s the same every day, every practice, every game. When things aren’t going well, he works his way out of it. He’s a great pro. He’s been a great pro his whole career.”

The wild first period also included Jacob Quillan potting his first career NHL goal. Quillan’s had quite the audition since the trade deadline once Scott Laughton and Nic Roy were both dealt, and he’s certainly played himself into the conversation for the bottom six next season. Berube was happy to see his youngster get rewarded for all the hard work. “I’m always excited for that, seeing the young guys. It’s fun for them to get their first NHL goal.”

Despite Quillan’s feel good story, it’s hard to digest just the silver linings of Monday’s game, as frankly, this was one of the Maple Leafs worst seasons in recent memory, and a very fitting end to their home schedule. Berube wasn’t afraid to admit it after the game, he was very disappointed with how the last game at Scotiabank Arena played out.

“I was disappointed. We got a 3-0 lead, and then we gave it back to them that quickly in the second period, just on mistakes. With the coverage, we’re right there, but we’re not close enough. It is disappointing on my end, for sure. We talked about getting a win here tonight. It would’ve been nice, but it didn’t happen.”

Toronto heads to Ottawa to faceoff against the Senators on Wednesday night, to wrap up their 2025-26 season. A divided fan base will be anxiously watching, as most of Leafs Nation will be pulling for a regulation loss to boost the odds in the NHL Draft Lottery, meanwhile, the other half will be pondering if they’re watching Berube coach his final game.

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