WATCH: Entire Toronto Maple Leafs arena including players and fans jump for joy after breaking 19 year old curse

The Toronto Maple Leafs' struggle to get past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has finally ended. That became certain after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 (OT) in Game 6 on Saturday at the Amalie Arena in Tampa to win the series 4-2.

Game 6 of the series featured an OT thriller contest between the two teams. 4:36 into the OT, captain John Tavares moved the spinning puck from the circle and fired it back into the net to secure the first playoff series for the Maple Leafs in 19 years.

The Maple Leafs won their first-ever playoff series since 2004. Fans were at the top of the world following the series clinching win on Saturday, so why wouldn't they be? They have been waiting for this moment for the last 19 years.

When Tavares scored the game-winning goal, the Toronto Maple Leafs fans let out emotions that they had been holding in their hearts for 19 years. Players ran into the ice with joy and the entire Toronto Square erupted with celebrations as the Maple Leafs made their way to the second round.

Watch some of the amazing scenes from Toronto Square:

Maple Leafs fans deserve every right to celebrate their win. However, they should not get themselves completely lost in celebrations as the journey is not over yet. The battle will be more tense in Round 2.

For the time being, the Toronto Maple Leafs can relax a bit and keep a close eye on the Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers series.

Toronto Maple Leafs' journey to their first playoff series win since 2004

The Leafs entered the first round of the 2023 playoffs as one of the favorites to win the the cup this time. However, things did not go as planned for the team as they suffered a huge 7-3 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opener of the series.

Coming into Game 2, the Leafs made a huge comeback and went onto defeat the Bolts with 7-2 at home. The series was tied at 1-1 before moving to Amalie Arena in Tampa for the third game.

Game three saw the first overtime thriller of the series. Both teams fought hard throughout the 60 minutes. Morgan Rielly came out as a savior and scored the winner in OT for the Leafs to lead the series 2-1. The fourth game again went for an OT thriller, with the Leafs coming out on top again to extend their lead to 3-1.

Maple Leafs fans were confident that their wait will finally come to an end in Game 5. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back with a 4-2 win, forcing the continuation of the series for Game 6.

The wait for Maple Leafs fans finally came to an end in Game 6 with John Tavares scoring the winner in overtime to help the Toronto Maple Leafs advance for Round 2. This is the first time since 2019 that the Tampa Bay Lightning have failed to advance to the second round.