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May 17: On this day in 1927, left-winger Al Buchanan was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Buchanan played his first three games in the NHL as a callup with the Leafs in January of 1949. The following January he played his fourth and final big league game, ending with one assist.
May 17: On this day in 1995, the Leafs got a huge overtime goal by left-winger Randy Wood to prolong their opening round series to a 7th and deciding game. It was Wood's biggest goal in his rather short time with Toronto even though the Blackhawks defeated and eliminated the Leafs two nights later.
May 17: On this day in 1999, Leaf forward Garry Valk scored what was probably the biggest goal of his NHL career when he ended the Leafs' Conference Semi-Final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 1:57 of overtime in Game 6 at Pittsburgh, giving Toronto a 4-3 victory. The huge goal propelled the Leafs into the 3rd round Conference Finals. Valk was a Leaf for 4 seasons between 1998 and 2002 and was not known for his goal scoring prowess. In 287 games for the Leafs, he had 31 goals and 94 points.
