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Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews. Photo: Tim Jarrold -in Play! magazine
Auston Matthews scored the winning goal during the third period as the Maple Leafs blanked the reigning Stanley Cup champions to evade elimination and force the first Game 7 of the Second Round. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
17
May

Stanley Cup Playoffs – May 16, 2025 – MATTHEWS, MARNER CONNECT ON WINNER AS MAPLE LEAFS FORCE GAME 7

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner connected on the winning goal while Joseph Woll turned aside all 22 shots he faced as Toronto bounced back from a 6-1 loss to force Game 7 in its Second Round series with Florida. The third winner-take-all showdown of the postseason takes place at Scotiabank Arena tomorrow (7:30 p.m. ET).

  • Matthews became the second Maple Leafs captain with a winning goal while facing elimination, following Darryl Sittler in Game 6 of the 1976 Quarterfinals. Matthews scored his second career winner in a potential elimination contest (also Game 4 of 2020 SCQ), which trails only Charlie Conacher (4) and Lanny McDonald (3) for the most in franchise history.
  • Marner assisted on one of Matthews’ postseason goals for the 12th time in his career to pass Doug Gilmour (11x on goals by Dave Andreychuk) and George Armstrong (11x on goals by Dave Keon) for the third-most helpers on tallies scored by one teammate in franchise playoff history. The list is topped by Syl Apps (14x on goals by Gordie Drillon) and Sittler (13x on goals by McDonald).
  • Woll recorded his first career playoff shutout and became the first Toronto goaltender with one while facing elimination since Curtis Joseph in Game 5 of the 2002 Conference Finals. Woll improved to 4-1 in five career potential elimination contests with a 1.13 goals-against average and .957 save percentage.

JETS NEED TO FORCE GAME 7 TO STAY IN FIGHT FOR STANLEY CUP

The Jets will face elimination for the second straight game and this time will need to win on the road – something they’ve yet to do so far this postseason – to force a Game 7 and remain in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the Stars will have another opportunity to advance to the Western Conference Final. Should Winnipeg earn the win, it would set up the second straight Game 7 for both clubs.

  • Winnipeg and Dallas both needed a Game 7 to advance to the Second Round – the Jets have never played multiple Game 7s in a postseason, while the Stars have done so once when the franchise was known as the Minnesota North Stars (2 in 1968). The last team with multiple in a playoff year was the 2024 Oilers, who played in a winner-take-all contest in the Second Round and Stanley Cup Final (1-1). The last team to win multiple Game 7s in one year was the Rangers (2-0 in 2022) and the last Cup winner with multiple Game 7 victories was the Blues (2-0 in 2019).
  • Connor Hellebuyck, who is coming off of a shutout performance, will aim to earn his fourth career victory in a game when facing elimination and win consecutive contests when facing elimination for the first time in his career. He’ll be doing so against his former 4 Nations Face-Off goalie tandem partner and current Stars netminder Jake Oettinger, who owns a 17-6 record in games following a loss within a single postseason.
  • Winnipeg enters Game 6 at American Airlines Center with one win in its past 11 playoff road games (1-10; 0-4 this year). Since the 16-team playoff format was introduced in 1980, only one team has made it past the second round despite losing four straight road contests within the first two rounds – the 2002 Maple Leafs had an 0-4 stretch as visitors before securing a spot in the Conference Finals.

Game 7 Trends

  • The team that scores first is 150-50 (.750) in the 200 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (0-2 in 2025).
  • Home teams own a 118-82 (.590) edge in the 200 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (2-0 in 2025).
  • 104 of the 200 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (52.0%) have been decided by a one-goal margin, including one of two in 2025.
  • 50 Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have required overtime (25.0%). Home teams have a 27-23 edge in those contests (1-0 in 2025).
Stanley Cup Schedule
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Guest Writer