<p>It was fun while it lasted. The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their season come to an end tonight, losing 2-1 in overtime to the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of their first-round series against the Presidents Trophy winners. It was an outcome that many ultimately expected at the start of the series but still felt a little short in the end. Here&#8217;s what went down:</p>
<h2>The Rundown</h2>
<p>The game, to be blunt, felt like a constant flow of equal opportunity throughout, with neither team being able to break through and truly have a lethal moment. Any time either team came close to generating a real opportunity. That is, until the luck of the almighty stanchion went their way, leaving Auston Matthews free to do this crazy thing:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Forget the bounce for a second, just look at the liftoff Auston Matthews gets on the puck here to make it 1-0 Leafs. <a href="https://t.co/sKpPqB6HBo">pic.twitter.com/sKpPqB6HBo</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856316186925072385">April 24, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Implications aside, moments aside, that&#8217;s one of the single best pieces of puck control we&#8217;ve seen from Matthews yet or any Leaf in a long time. It put them up when they needed it, too, and it looked like it was going to be a dagger, until..</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Marcus Johansson makes it a tie game once again. 1-1 in the third period. <a href="https://t.co/0bDPjwbPpL">pic.twitter.com/0bDPjwbPpL</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856318930335518721">April 24, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The lead was cut short by this equalizer from Marcus Johansson, who just managed to eke it through Frederik Andersen&#8217;s pads. This set us up for yet another overtime, and, well&#8230;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Better angle on the Mojo dagger <a href="https://t.co/BGvTNT98cW">pic.twitter.com/BGvTNT98cW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856341868057153537">April 24, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>After having to hear about the importance of the Leafs&#8217; faceoff wins for hours from the broadcast, a loss came back to haunt them.</p>
<h2>Why the Leafs Lost</h2>
<p>Honestly, it&#8217;s hard to say. This was yet another super tight game. Andersen was spectacular. Toronto did its best to generate chances. The series-winning goal came from a thing they were doing well all game not going well that one time. I guess you can blame Martin Marincin for not being hard enough on the puck on both plays, but it also feels a little crazy to put this loss all on him.</p>
<p>It may have just been a game where they got very slightly outplayed by the best, a thought which encapsulates the series.</p>
<h2>Blue Warrior</h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550">
<p lang="da" dir="ltr">Frederik Andersen robs TJ Oshie from point blank range <a href="https://t.co/FdBnjrNIl3">pic.twitter.com/FdBnjrNIl3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856317739731996674">April 24, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&#8220;The fans, the whole team, etc&#8221; would&#8217;ve been an easy cop out here that I was prepared to make before puck drop. No chance. Frederik Andersen was spectacular, keeping some scary chances from turning into gut-wrenching goals, and in both of the cases of him conceding, he was only beat by a hair. He showed up when they needed him to; while he couldn&#8217;t win the game for the team, he certainly didn&#8217;t lose it for them.</p>
<h2>See You Next Time</h2>
<p>This concludes the season for the Leafs, obviously. But it doesn&#8217;t conclude our coverage; we&#8217;ll be breaking down the series and the season over the coming days and weeks, and we&#8217;ll be looking towards the Marlies&#8217; playoff run, the draft, the offseason, and all sorts of other fun things throughout. It&#8217;s a 24/7/365 industry, and we&#8217;re not going anywhere. Thank you so much for following allow throughout the year; the best is yet to come.</p>

It was fun while it lasted. The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their season come to an end tonight, losing 2-1 in overtime to the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of their first-round series against the Presidents Trophy winners. It was an outcome that many ultimately expected at the start of the series but still felt a little short in the end. Here's what went down:
<h2>The Rundown</h2>
The game, to be blunt, felt like a constant flow of equal opportunity throughout, with neither team being able to break through and truly have a lethal moment. Any time either team came close to generating a real opportunity. That is, until the luck of the almighty stanchion went their way, leaving Auston Matthews free to do this crazy thing:

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856316186925072385

Implications aside, moments aside, that's one of the single best pieces of puck control we've seen from Matthews yet or any Leaf in a long time. It put them up when they needed it, too, and it looked like it was going to be a dagger, until..

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856318930335518721

The lead was cut short by this equalizer from Marcus Johansson, who just managed to eke it through Frederik Andersen's pads. This set us up for yet another overtime, and, well...

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856341868057153537

After having to hear about the importance of the Leafs' faceoff wins for hours from the broadcast, a loss came back to haunt them.
<h2>Why the Leafs Lost</h2>
Honestly, it's hard to say. This was yet another super tight game. Andersen was spectacular. Toronto did its best to generate chances. The series-winning goal came from a thing they were doing well all game not going well that one time. I guess you can blame Martin Marincin for not being hard enough on the puck on both plays, but it also feels a little crazy to put this loss all on him.

It may have just been a game where they got very slightly outplayed by the best, a thought which encapsulates the series.
<h2>Blue Warrior</h2>
https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/856317739731996674

"The fans, the whole team, etc" would've been an easy cop out here that I was prepared to make before puck drop. No chance. Frederik Andersen was spectacular, keeping some scary chances from turning into gut-wrenching goals, and in both of the cases of him conceding, he was only beat by a hair. He showed up when they needed him to; while he couldn't win the game for the team, he certainly didn't lose it for them.
<h2>See You Next Time</h2>
This concludes the season for the Leafs, obviously. But it doesn't conclude our coverage; we'll be breaking down the series and the season over the coming days and weeks, and we'll be looking towards the Marlies' playoff run, the draft, the offseason, and all sorts of other fun things throughout. It's a 24/7/365 industry, and we're not going anywhere. Thank you so much for following allow throughout the year; the best is yet to come.

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Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) skates with the puck defended by Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) in the third period at Little Caesars Arena.

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