1993 Campbell Conference Final Game 7 vs Los Angeles Kings
Three goals up with minutes left. Zero to overtime. One goal from glory, nothing but silence after.
The seventh game of the 1993 Campbell Conference Final remains the deepest playoff run in Toronto Maple Leafs history, and its conclusion is etched into franchise lore as pure devastation. Facing Wayne Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings at The Forum, the Leafs held a seemingly secure three-goal cushion with minutes remaining. What followed was a third-period unraveling that forced overtime and handed the series to LA. It wasn't just a loss; it was the moment the 'Curse of 1967' felt most real, closing the door on the closest championship chance in a quarter-century.
- Date
- May 25, 1993
- Venue
- The Forum, Inglewood, California
- Series Outcome
- Los Angeles Kings win in Overtime (4-3)
- Leafs Key Player
- Doug Gilmour (7 points in series)
- Kings Goal Scorer (OT)
- Luc Robitaille
- Leafs Goaltender
- Felix Potvin
Lore & Background
For decades afterward, this game served as the benchmark for 'what could have been.' While Gretzky and the Kings eventually fell to Montreal in the Final, the narrative in Toronto fixated entirely on the collapse. The 3-0 lead became a ghost story told at Leafs bars every spring. It solidified Doug Gilmour’s legacy not just as an MVP candidate, but as the captain who carried the weight when the structure failed around him.
In Their Own Story
The air inside The Forum was thick with tension, a suffocating mix of King's gold and Leaf blue. Doug Gilmour skated hard, his breath visible in the cold arena air, trying to will his team forward. They had it; they were three goals up. But the Kings refused to die. As the clock ticked down from 3-0 to a tie, the silence in Toronto grew deafening. When Luc Robitaille finally potted the puck in overtime, the roar of the home crowd was a physical blow. Gilmour stood frozen at center ice, the weight of the franchise settling back onto his shoulders, another chapter closed in a story that refused to end happily.
Reader's Guide
Played on May 25, 1993, at The Forum in Inglewood, this matchup decided the Western Conference champion. Toronto surged ahead early, but the Kings’ power play and relentless forecheck chipped away at Felix Potvin’s net. The turning point came late in the third period when Los Angeles scored three unanswered goals to tie it up. Overtime arrived with a collective groan from the Maple Leaf Gardens crowd watching on closed-circuit TV, ending only when Luc Robitaille tipped home a rebound to send LA to the Final.
Did You Know?
- This was the last time the Maple Leafs won a playoff series until 2004.
- Doug Gilmour finished the 1993 playoffs with 36 points, setting a franchise record for a single postseason.
- The Kings went on to lose the Stanley Cup Final to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
- Felix Potvin made 52 saves in Game 7 before the overtime collapse.