Young Leafs fans’ night turns from crushing disappointment into a dream come true

On Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a bad situation into a positive experience for one lucky fan at Amalie Arena.

The Maple Leafs rested many regulars against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second half of their back-to-back. This included superstars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Blake, a young fan, traveled all the way from Canada to see both All-Stars.

Blake crafted a sign to bring to the game, saying he came to watch his heroes — Matthews and Marner — which TSN’s broadcast captured on-air.

The Maple Leafs responded quickly to this situation and began searching for Blake in the crowd. The team then invited Blake to meet Matthews (and Marner) after the game in order to make up the difference for his disappointment at missing his two favourite players.

Blake was also given a signed Matthews stick, and he took a photo with his idols. Matthews and Marner also signed his poster and t-shirt in a moment he’ll surely cherish forever.

On the ice, Toronto’s rookie goaltender Joseph Woll and their star goaltender Joseph Woll were both there. 4-3 victory. William Nylander, Luke Schenn, Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan O’Reilly provided the scoring for the visitors, while Alex Killorn, Nick Perbix and Mikhail Sergachev countered for the Lightning.

They will be seeing each other a lot in the near future as both Atlantic Division heavyweights are set to compete in the next round of the World Cup. renew their heated rivalry In the Stanley Cup playoffs’ first round. Matthews will be well rested and ready to go when the series starts next week.