'Job's not done:' Leafs' captain Tavares staying even-keeled with big Game 5 ahead

The opportunity at hand is not lost on Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares. And he says it's a great one for his team to rise to.

Toronto holds a 3-1 lead in its first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning heading into Game 5 on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena. The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2004 and are 2-17 over their last 19 post-season contests when leading a series.

Asked what the moment is like, the Mississauga, Ont., native shared a similar mantra to that of Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant's famed "job's not finished" from the 2009 NBA Finals.

"It's cliche, but you really just try not to get too high or too low. I think we've just put ourselves in a good spot but the job's not done," Tavares said. "The hardest one to get is the last one, so just continue to go about our business as we have all season.

After dropping the series opener 7-3 at home, Toronto strung together three consecutive wins, including back-to-back comeback overtime victories on the road.

Winning in such fashion, along with the talent the Leafs possess, gives the team confidence going forward.

"I think, obviously, finding ways to win those two games, not playing our best, shows us that, 'Hey, we're a good team here, we could find a way,"' said forward Ryan O'Reilly. "Over the course of a seven-game series, there are ones that you got to steal and that's what we did.

"Knowing that if we do get back to playing a full 60 [minutes] the right way and the way that we know how to and dictating more, we're going to put ourselves in an even better spot to succeed."

But It's not the first time the Leafs have been in this position. They held the same advantage two years back against the Montreal Canadiens but were