Toronto fans in disbelief after Leafs break playoff curse

Maple Leafs fans have waited 19 years to watch their team win a playoff series and after all the disappointments witnessed in that time, many in Toronto could not believe it when John Tavares scored an overtime goal to closed out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6.

Video Transcript

OMAR: If you have been a Leafs fan since forever, if you've been through all the highs and the lows and all of the lows, then this day-- this will be a where were you moment. No hyperbole, because the Toronto Maple Leafs, for the first time in 19 years, since 2004, advance-- I can't even believe I'm going to say it! Advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs--

They did it. I burst into tears, man. I'm not ashamed to admit that. The minute the goal went in, I just-- I lost it. I know there are moments where, after games, media will ask players, they'll go, well, what were you thinking about after this goal? And they say, oh, they just blanked out and just reacted.

Yeah, I just-- I never thought they would actually do it. And this year of all years, again, I was making a joke of it. But this year is the 10-year anniversary of the game seven loss in 2013 where it all started, where the jokes and the memes and the "it was 4-1," and game seven and win a round and you can't win a round, all of the crap that we as Leafs fans have gone for so long for just cheering for this team and wanting them to do well, a team that has the largest fan base in the NHL.

I'm sorry. It's true, most traveled, most looked at, whether it's positively or negatively. Everyone watches this team. They have a fan base that reeks of passion, that just wants the team to do well. And year after year after year, we would go into the season with high hopes, high hopes of them being able to achieve anything.

The bar was so low for the longest time. There is a part of me, man, that thought they were going to lose. Matthews scores to make it 1-0. Of course it was him. He had the best game. He was awesome. He was crazy. He was wicked.

And then poor defensive coverage. They tie it. It gets to overtime. And I was waiting for it. I was waiting for it. Kucherov hadn't been that great in this series. I was waiting for it. Brayden Point literally ended-- scored the game six overtime goal last year to force it to game seven. I was waiting for it.

Steven Stamkos already scored 1 goal. Maybe he could have gone another one. I was waiting for it. Alex Killorn, always ends up playing, scoring huge playoff goals. He had like three looks in this game. I was waiting for it.

And then it didn't happen because the player who left his team that drafted him and went home to live his dream in playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the captain of the team grabs the puck, circles around, fires it on net. Riley, in a nice net front battle with Raddysh. The puck goes off Raddysh's skate, in.

And when I tell you I cried, man-- Leafs fans, this is for us. And if anyone tries to rip on you or say, oh, my gosh, you're acting like you won the Stanley Cup, well, you know what? This is our Stanley Cup because year after year after year after year, we believe. And we have optimism and faith and hope. And year after year, the Leafs let us down. But this year, they didn't. They didn't let us down this year.

They gave us something to cheer about. Heck, the traffic downtown-- traffic downtown is so bad, the TTC customer service account tweeted about it, said, oh, there's a whole bunch of traffic and then said, Go, Leafs, go the end.