The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in the Core Four era.

The way they got to the second may not have been the most ideal way – dropping two straight games after going up 3-0 in the series – but they ultimately pulled through when it mattered the most. Their stars showed up, the defence kept things tight, the players were disciplined for the most part, Craig Berube made the correct adjustments, and Anthony Stolarz stood tall when he was called upon.

In some ways, this outcome was to be expected given that the Leafs won the Atlantic Division while the Ottawa Senators were a wild card team making their first playoff appearance in eight years. In other ways, there was no guarantee this would occur because of all the playoff demons that Toronto still has to deal with. And those will certainly be lurking in the back of their minds when they take on the reigning Stanley Cup champs in the Florida Panthers in the second round.

But there won’t be as many as there were a little over two years ago because some of those demons were exorcised when John Tavares caught lightning in a bottle to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The story of that season needs little introduction. The Leafs, coming off another Game 7 loss the season prior, opted to stick with the nucleus with Kyle Dubas’ contract set to expire at season’s end. It was another strong regular season, and it was made known for months that the Leafs would square off against the Lightning in the first round. Dubas decided this would be the year to make a big push at the deadline when he made a flurry of trades that resulted in the likes of Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, and Jake McCabe joining the roster.

The moves ultimately were enough to finally propel the Leafs out of the first round for the first time since 2004, which was a moment that fans continue to look back on fondly. It may not have resulted in a long run that spring, but it finally gave the Core Four the satisfaction of overcoming demons that had been a thorn in their sides for so long.

Going back to the present day where the Leafs have now won their second series with this nucleus, the importance of that win in 2023 has grown exponentially with this victory in 2025.

Let’s be clear: this is far from the same team that caught lightning in a bottle. Dubas is gone, Sheldon Keefe is no longer the head coach, and a good chunk of the supporting cast is different. That team got their series win differently from how this season’s squad did, with the latter being a way that is way better suited for playoff hockey.

But one thing both teams had in common was that they had Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly leading the way. They were certainly productive when they had to be in both series, but crucially, they were mature and composed. Sure, there may have been some nerves in Game 5 with a chance to clinch a series in Scotiabank Arena for the first time in nearly 20 years, but then again, not every team in the playoffs will be at their best for each game. That loss would have demoralized the group in seasons past, but that wasn’t the case this time around as they remained undeterred and confident. This was reflected in how they approached Game 6, with high focus and internal belief they had what it took to close it out, which is what they ultimately did.

There is no guarantee that those five players would have expressed any confidence, poise, and composure had they failed to win in 2023. But because they had that prior triumph to fall back on, it allowed them to remain focused and not get too deterred by a setback.

One other thing that is a clear sign of growth was the way the Leafs celebrated the series win. It was not quite as dramatic as an overtime winner, but it got down to the wire before Nylander iced it with under 20 seconds left in regulation. They were certainly happy to have gotten the series win, but you could tell it was more of a business-like approach in that they completed a task and were ready for the next one.

When they finally got past the first round in 2023, they were quickly ousted by the Panthers in the second round. There were plenty of factors at hand in why that ended up being the case, but perhaps one of them was that the nucleus got lost in the hoopla of winning one round that they lost a bit of their composure. There will be no surprises for both the second round and the Panthers this time because the Leafs have been in this position before. I am sure most fans would understand, too, that the journey has only just begun as the team is only a quarter of the way to the Stanley Cup.

The importance of that 2023 first-round win may not lead to them going all the way this year. After all, the playoffs only get harder from here and we are down to the final eight teams in the chase for hockey glory. But that victory played a role in helping them take care of business against the Senators in providing them the sense of belief that they are capable of closing out a series. Now that they have done it twice, it has boosted their confidence just a little bit more.