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May 31: On this day in 1970, legendary Hall-of-Fame goalie, Terry Sawchuk passed away in New York City. He was just 40 years old. There have been many accounts as to how he actually died, but the most accurate one is detailed in Sawchuk's official biography, a book by David Dupuis entitled "Sawchuk, The troubles and triumphs of the world's greatest goalie." He died as a result of a bleeding liver and subsequent blood clots caused by a blow to the abdomen suffered in a backyard tussle with Ranger teammate Ron Stewart in late April of the same year.
May 31: On this day in 1999, the Leafs were eliminated from the Conference Finals by the Buffalo Sabres. Erik Rasmussen of the Sabres scored midway through the third period to snap a tie as the Sabres rallied to beat Toronto 4-2 and capture the Eastern Conference final in Game 5. It was the 3rd time during the 1990's that the Leafs made it through to the final four teams remaining in the playoffs. As of 2008, May 31 is the latest calendar date on which the Leafs have played a hockey game. No Leafs team has ever played in June.
