33 Years Ago in Leafland; April 21, 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.
"First, you've got to look at how well the Leafs played, they made us look bad. They played the perfect road game. They stayed on top of us," stated Red Wings coach Jacques Demers after Toronto took Game 1 of the Norris Final by a score of 4-2 at Joe Louis Arena. Demers continued, "Their six defencemen were phenomenal. Their defence did the same thing we did against Chicago a week ago."
Wings goalie Greg Stefan wasn't as sharp as he was the previous series, allowing four goals on 17 shots before getting the hook near the halfway point of the game. On Stefan, Demers commented, "He wasn't sharp as he has been, but we've got to remember what he did for us against Chicago."
Rick Vaive said after the game, "I think this was a very big win for us. Now the season comes into play a bit. They've got to start wondering now what they have to do to beat us. Obviously the layoff hurt them in the first game. That's something I expected. But as I said before the series that after this it won't matter. That's why it was important for us to win the first one."
Toronto opened the scoring on a long shot by Dan Daoust from just over centre ice. "He turned his pad to deflect it into the corner and I think he just misjudged it," stated Daoust. After Mel Bridgman tied it, Wregget allowed his own long goal on a shot from centre by Mike O'Connell before the first period ended. Wregget said, "The guy looked like he was going to dump the puck into the corner. But he rolled his wrist and brought it back and put the shot on goal. I had started out of the net to block the puck behind the net. By the time I realized what he was doing, I was out of position and couldn't get back." The Detroit lead didn't last long as Rick Vaive scored on a breakaway 1:25 into the second,  then Wendel Clark got the eventual winner a few minutes later on a rebound of a Vaive shot.
Demers concluded his assessment, "It was a typical, hard-nosed game. There was no fighting; nothing stupid. I hope that sets the tone for the series."

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