BOSTON – John Tavares has waited his whole life for a night such as this.

Putting on a Maple Leafs jersey for his first playoff game. Making a difference in a rather stunning 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Setting up one goal. Scoring one into an empty net.

His line scoring three of Toronto’s four goals. Being part of the first Game 1 victory by a Leafs playoff team in 16 years. Does he remember that win when he was 12 years old? “Probably,” he said, leaving a new set of memories for a new set of Toronto hockey fans. But in typical Tavares form, he was excited by the win, for the moment, for the possibilities it brought with it, for what he accomplished, for what his linemate Mitch Marner accomplished, for what the Leafs, all of them, or almost all of them managed in a Game 1 in which the Leafs trailed 1-0 in the first period and came back to take over the game while hanging on rather smartly for the victory.

But there was something about Tavares that didn’t revolve around his empty net goal. About the way he played. About the way he competed. About the way he led. About the way he made unusual and impressive plays that was such a daunting factor in the Leafs win – a deep impressive, full-team victory led by its first-line centre, the two goals by winger Marner, the totality of the Leafs roster and the Tavares line all but owning the great Bergeron line, which only scored in the first period with the man advantage and Tavares and his linemates on the bench.

Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Leafs were strong when they had Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri at centre a year ago. Now, with Tavares, the possibilities change exponentially. The Boston matchup was clear – Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy wanted Bergeron against Tavares. He got his way winning the matchup battle. He won the matchups and lost the game.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

And in between, there was so much of Tavares in so many different ways. He won a first period draw and did what is rarely ever done before. He won the draw and then was first to the puck on the boards. His slight feed to Jake Muzzin resulted in a shot that banged off the goal post and led to Marner’s first goal.

That isn’t the kind of play you see often. It is the kind of play Tavares can make. He beat Bergeron on the draw. That’s winning playoff hockey games.

Tavares came back with speed, went to the boards with speed, had a game high six shots while playing in a defensive role, used his stick well in tipping passes in the neutral zone, and basically played text book centre.

This is the next step for Auston Matthews to take. This is a style every Leaf can watch and learn and grow from. This is why the Leafs went all-out last July and brought Tavares home. And now, a Game 1 lead, the first since 2003, a lead over Boston after losing 5-1 – the Leafs played three games at the TD Garden last April after being scored on 19 goals in Boston. Last year, the Leafs didn’t have Marner playing at this level, they didn’t have the depth up front they have now, they didn’t have Muzzin on defence and Jake Gardiner on a third defensive pairing – and as important as any of that, they didn’t have the presence of Tavares.

Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The key word being presence.

“There’s nothing like playoff hockey,” said Tavares, who frankly hasn’t known a lot of playoff hockey in Toronto. That’s why he decided to come home. He looked at the Leafs roster. He saw the youth and the depth and the possibilities. He wanted to be part of that. He wanted to see how far this could go, this year and next year and the year after that.

And when talking about the game afterwards, he said the cliche hockey thing. He said everybody contributed. And everybody did.

Even the Leafs that sometimes make you hold your breath – like having Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey on defence, like William Nylander up front – contributed mightily.

“When we play like this as a team, when we do that I really like our chances.”

There have been so many emotional twists in this first season for Tavares as a Leaf. The returns to Long Island. The first-time goal scoring stats. The big Toronto reception. The famous photograph of him and his Maple Leaf sheets. So much expected, so much delivered.

And just one game gone. The Marner penalty shot goal, which looked like a triple-deke out of the movie Mighty Ducks, will probably be shown on SportsCentre tonight and tomorrow morning and after that for a while.

Tavares won’t see it. He turns off the outside world. He thinks now that this game is over and there is a second game coming up on Saturday night. The Leafs have their win, their first playoff lead to open a series in 16 years, with Marner scoring the first penalty shot goal in 20 years.

Tavares was probably watching on TV that night, although he couldn’t remember if he was. He’s creating his own memories now for others to grow up with. And this just the beginning, his beginning as a playoff Leaf.