“Game 3s tend to be jacked up. It should be a show tonight.” — Connor Carrick, seeing the future

TORONTO – Smart hockey people keep saying it, and then something new and surprising will happen, and a few more people will join the refrain.

But this? Well, this one converted hordes of ’em. Ovation-giving, towel-whipping, seat-banging, dart-huffing crowds of believers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are actually good.

“This isn’t David and Goliath,” said Barry Trotz, head coach of a Presidents’ Trophy–winning Washington Capitals team that now trails the final team to slip into the playoffs 2-1 in a best-of-seven.

“It’s not coming easy right now. Three overtime games. Heck of a series. You find out a lot about your guys.”

The city of Toronto is still discovering the depth of resolve this Maple Leafs group wields.

The one-two heavyweight punch of Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin popped the Capitals to a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the Air Canada Centre’s first Stanley Cup playoff game in four years. Dart Guy‘s war paint was still wet. It would’ve been a fair time to wilt.

Only, these guys don’t.

Leo Komarov—the poly-lingual crazy uncle of the checking line—laid a beastly hit on Ovechkin then shutdown-slash-scoring centre Nazem Kadri detonated big, bad Brooks Orpik with his shoulder. Twice. All of it in one shift.

“At that point in time, I had smoke coming out of my ears,” Kadri said post-game. “I felt like I had to do something about it. I just tried to lay a clean body check and get the guys going.”

Said Morgan Rielly: “We love it when he plays like that.”

With fans inside and outside the building still buzzing over the hits, future Calder winner Auston Matthews banged in the first playoff goal of his career on the very next shift: 2-1.

“Those two have been great for us all series, not just on the scoresheet but getting under the opponents’ skin,” Matthews said. “That was awesome for us to kind of get the momentum off of that shift and score that goal and continued to ride it.”

Another, lesser incarnation of the Maple Leafs would not have been able to rally from 2-0 early, let alone 3-1 late in Period 2, which was the score after Evgeny Kuznetsov whipped an acute-angle rebound past Frederik Andersen and flapped like a bird in celebration because Don Cherry needs content.

These Leafs aren’t those Leafs.

“We believe in ourselves, we believe in the system we have, we believe in one another,” Rielly said. “There’s no quit in this team.”

So when the Capitals, a top-four squad with the man-advantage, were given a full two minutes of 5-on-3 power-play time, one wouldn’t blame the non-believers for bracing for pain.

“Obviously, we had to use it,” Ovechkin said.

They didn’t. And, as per hockey law, when you fail to score 5-on-3, the killing team gets all the momentum.

“That’s what won us the game,” said Kadri, who, after the Leafs killed another minor penalty, fired a point shot off Orpik’s butt and past Braden Holtby.

Dogged forechecking from Zach Hyman and Matthews created William Nylander’s tying goal in the waning moments of the second period, and the third was all Toronto, who came at the Caps in waves. The visitors needed 13 minutes and 25 seconds to register a third-period shot.

“On our heels… just on our heels,” Washington defenceman Matt Niskanen tried explaining in a hushed tone. “They took it to us.”

A bad high-sticking penalty by Lars Eller with 15 seconds left in regulation made it feel like 3-3 Leafs heading into the third overtime game of the series.

Giddy, razzy “Hoooolt-Beeee!” chants rained like misery used to.

And in a series where every game needs more than 60 minutes and all two-goal leads go to die, the young, confident Maple Leafs entered OT with a fresh sheet and an extra man on the ice.

Tyler Bozak is one of the last remnants of those ugly times the town hardly ever speaks of, the era when, as a whole, the Leafs felt like individuals divided and/or disinterested. He’s the one that tipped do-everything Kadri’s slap pass in the high slot (a well-rehearsed play) to glory and song.

“That might have been the happiest I’ve been in my entire career,” Kadri said. “This isn’t pressure. This is fun for us.”

Bozak, the night’s hero, was a jumble of emotions.

“You just want to be with your teammates and celebrate,” Bozak said.

“We’ve always believed in ourselves. It’s never bad to be in an underdog position. There’s a little less pressure, but we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform, and we believe in ourselves in here and that’s the most important thing.”

Funny. All doubt in this squad of kids accustomed to winning comes from outside.

The Capitals repeatedly pay their opponents compliments, as if cushioning a blow they’re beginning to fear.

“It’s not like we’re playing a squirt AA team,” the Capitals’ John Carlson said.

The last time Trotz was in Toronto, he had a chat with his friend Babcock, whose team was immersed in a three-headed dogfight for a wildcard spot.

“There’s no question you’re going to be in,” Trotz told him. “You’re too good of a hockey team.”

Babcock wouldn’t agree, at least not out loud. Didn’t want to jinx it.

Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet NOW Ready for playoff hockey? Stream every single game of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Sportsnet NOW.

Not only are the Maple Leafs in, with two games in the bank, they are—in the immortal words of Bon Jovi—halfway there.

“I thought we gained confidence in Game 1 because we showed we can play. Game 2 was a big confidence-builder,” Babcock said.

“Now if you talk to our guys, our guys think they’re a good hockey team. They’re playing a good hockey team, but I think you gain respect for yourself in the process, and you start believing that maybe you can do this.”