33 Years Ago in Leafland; March 29, 1987

Spring of 1987. The Maple Leafs went on an improbable playoff run. They got to within a game of meeting the mighty Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. I was a 15 year-old hockey mad kid enjoying the fortunes of my favourite team. What better time than now to look back at this memorable time of my youth and Leafs history.
Leafs coach, John Brophy exclaimed after a big 6-2 win in Winnipeg, "When we get into the playoffs we'll know how to play because we've been under pressure since September. It doesn't matter where we've been, not as long as we're here now." Where the Leafs were was still one point OUT of a playoff spot, but Chicago and Minnesota did their part to aid the Leafs cause, each losing.
The strenuous two-and-a-half hour practice inflicted by Brophy three days prior, certainly seemed to be achieving the desired results. Rick Vaive, who missed the practice with the cut tongue from the Buffalo game said, "It's definitely helped. I had an opportunity to watch it and it was a tough practice. I'm sure the guys said, 'We don't want to go like this for the next week and a half', Broph definitely got his message across. I should study to be a psychologist to figure this out."
Steve Thomas and Wendel Clark each had a pair of goals in the game and Toronto was able to climb to a 4-1 lead after two periods, this after arriving in Winnipeg at 4am Toronto time. Goalie Ken Wregget was stellar for the second night in a row, stopping 28 of 30 shots, saying after,"We play so good sometimes and so badly other times. It's weird."
The Maple Leafs were now seriously on the cusp of a playoff berth that seemed so unlikely just a few days before.


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