Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews narrowly avoided serious injury in Game 6. With his Maple Leafs facing elimination, it was a huge relief to see the superstar captain return to the ice after a brief exit. He made his return count in the third period. And as a result, the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers are headed to Game 7.

Matthews broke a longstanding deadlock in Game 6 with a third-period goal. His goal gave his team life at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. Later in the period, Max Pacioretty doubled the lead to give Toronto another boost. In the end, Toronto won 2-0, setting up Game 7.

The Maple Leafs got a big-time performance from Joesph Woll in Game 6. He stopped all 22 shots he faced from the Panthers in this contest. Since taking over for the injured Anthony Stolarz, Woll has an .893 save percentage in six games.

Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews have one more chance at East Final

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The Maple Leafs are one of the more storied franchises in all of hockey. Only one team — the Montreal Canadiens — have more Stanley Cups than Toronto. However, this franchise has also suffered through playoff failure after playoff failure for decades. Their last Stanley Cup came all the way back in 1967.

Toronto has shown that things could be different this time around. At least, many bought into the idea before their horrific Game 5 performance which saw Florida score six goals in Toronto. This team had more than their playoff lives to fight for in Game 6. They had to prove they weren't going to roll over with their backs against the wall.

Matthews scoring certainly brought life to his team. It's just his 16th goal in his last 47 postseason games. His team needed him to show up, and he did just that. Now, they have one more chance to advance to their first Eastern Conference Final since 2002. Let's see if Toronto can capture Game 7 at home on Sunday night.