MONTREAL, QC - MAY 03: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his first period goal against the Montreal Canadiens with teammate Alex Galchenyuk #12 at the Bell Centre on May 3, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
1979. That was the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
When Gary Bettman and the league’s office settled on an all-Canadian division as their path forward to completing a 2020-21 season, you would be hard-pressed to find a Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens fan that was not hoping for this matchup ever since puck drop on the night of January 13th.