I remember the doom and gloom as the Leafs were getting it handed to them for the second time in a row by the Wings in game 2 of the 1993 first round. Then Potvin gave a huge two-hander to Ciccarelli, and with all the whining and blaming around me, I suddenly felt calm. Because I knew they had the fire.
Last night watching them come out in the second after a first period where everything went wrong without even missing a beat, I knew they had the fire. Even when Boston got the fifth goal they didn't relent. They were first to every puck, they dominated possession, Matthews was on fire, and they came back and made plays defensively that a team that has given up wouldn't.
They have to get the PK under control, but this series isn't over. Andersen will be back in form, pucks will stop bouncing in off defencemen. Suddenly, with the balance of play being in the Boston end like it was through the first two periods of game one and throughout game two, we might see some results.
It'a a long haul back with little room for error, and it takes a special kind of fan to quit on the team while attacking the players that clearly have not given up.
GLG.