Why fans are calling the Troy Stecher own goal the most important Maple Leafs play of the season
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Troy Stecher scored on his own net, though fans are giving him all the credit for understanding the assignment and helping the Maple Leafs with their tank.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs like to give their fans anxiety attacks, they've been itching to hand them out over the past two games. After William Nylander made things close against Florida, the team came out hot against Dallas.
Up 3-0 when they really shouldn't be doing that, the Maple Leafs kept on pushing no matter what Dallas threw at them, and thankfully the Stars were able to come out with a 6-5 victory after a hat-trick from Mavrik Bourque; leaving Toronto sitting fourth.
Why the Troy Stecher own goal is the exact clutch play the Maple Leafs needed for the draft
But it was how the Stars were able to tie the game at five which is causing fans to actually appreciate it because it wasn't a Dallas player who scored.
Troy Stecher managed to simply just swipe at the puck and perfectly placed it past his own netminder Artur Akhtyamov, leading to the Stars evening things up. Stecher looked upset and clearly, he wasn't trying to score on his own net but fans were thankful.
Some are even calling it the most important goal of the season:
Why it's so important is that it helped Dallas win and give Toronto the perfect chance to fall into fourth-worst place in the NHL; and coupled with LA's win over Seattle — Toronto managed to get even luckier on Monday.
Toronto cannot finish worse than fifth, and have to lose against Ottawa in the season finale and it has to be in regulation.
However, they could end up getting luckier if the Flames end up winning their last two games; leapfrogging Toronto by one point and giving them the fourth-worst record in the league. It's a lot to ask but stranger things have happened.
How a free waiver pickup accidentally secured the future of the Toronto blueline
Coming in this past November as simply insurance for a broken blueline, Stecher came in as a waiver pickup from Edmonton and immediately made a difference.
He gave Toronto someone who can actually move the puck, and on top of that someone who doesn't give up on any battles, plays solid defence, and ate a bunch of minutes; he raised his TOI over 10 minutes which is very impressive.
But as a depth player no one would have thought he could be the saviour of the team, but if he is able to secure Toronto a top-five pick then he may as well have just given the Maple Leafs his replacement.
Well, actually Morgan Rielly's but the sentiment is the same. Stecher's own goal could lead to Toronto's new franchise defender. Chase Reid or Keaton Verhoeff would completely transform the team, and it would be thanks to Stecher.
So not only was Stecher a free waiver pickup earlier in the year and played his heart out — but he may have just secured Toronto's future without even realizing it.
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Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 14|858 ANSWERS Why fans are calling the Troy Stecher own goal the most important Maple Leafs play of the season Are you happy Troy Stecher scored an own goal to help the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 680 | 79.3 % |
| No | 178 | 20.7 % |
| List of polls | ||