"Choke artists are back" - Paul Bissonnette takes a dig at Boston Bruins over their Game 5 loss to Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs managed to keep their hopes of advancing in the NHL playoffs alive with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their first-round series.

The win was largely because of the stellar performance by goaltender Joseph Woll, who made 28 saves on the night, and rookie forward Matthew Knies, who scored the overtime game-winner.

NHL analyst Paul Bissonnette quickly praised the Maple Leafs' performance and took a jab at the Boston Bruins on social media. In a post on X, Bissonnette wrote:

"The Brick Woll just outperformed your glory boy in your own building. You couldn't even beat us no Matthews. It's happening all over again. Choke artists are back."

Bissonnette's comment about "no Matthews" refers to the fact that Maple Leafs star player Auston Matthews was absent from Game 5 due to an injury. Matthews had briefly appeared at the morning practice but left before the structured drills began.

The hero of the night, Matthew Knies, described the feeling of scoring the overtime winner:

"I was just so excited and so happy. I think what brought me more joy was to see the faces of my teammates and how much they wanted to keep playing and keep moving on."

Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe commended his team's aggressive start and resilience after falling behind 3-1 in the series:

"We didn't feel sorry for ourselves. We didn't mail it in. We went out and tried to take charge of the hockey game in the first period."

Is history repeating itself? Game 5 loss reminds Boston Bruins fans of last year's playoff loss against the Florida Panthers

The Boston Bruins find themselves in a familiar position after dropping Game 5 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just like last year against the Florida Panthers, when the Bruins had a 3-2 series lead only to lose two straight games and get eliminated in the first round.

That dramatic collapse is fresh in the minds of Bruins fans, who are worried history could repeat itself.

One fan commented:

"It's happening again, isn't it?"

Another fan commented acknowledging the tweet.

"Yeah, it's happening again".

Here are some fan reactions:

"Not learning your lessons from last year about not closing the series out when you can," one fan twetted.

"Some very entertaining playoff hockey! Too bad we had a terrible first half… Come out ready to play hard next game and we got this series. Let’s go Bruins! Also Swayman had a hell of a night," another fan twetted.

With the series now shifting back to Toronto for Game 6, the Boston Bruins will be eager to close the series at the earliest.