NHL playoffs 2019: Maple Leafs cursed by Drake? Toronto drops Game 4 with rapper present

Rudi Schuller

NHL playoffs 2019: Maple Leafs cursed by Drake? Toronto drops Game 4 with rapper present image

Just days after an Italian soccer team banned its players from taking photos with Drake, the Canadian rapper showed up to support his hometown hockey team and had the sports world talking about whether his so-called curse would extend to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With Toronto hosting the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their first-round series on Wednesday, Drake could be spotted in a private box sporting a blue Leafs jersey with the No. 6. 

Photos and video of the 32-year-old immediately started to spread on social media, with most referencing the so-called "Drake Curse" that befalls any team or athlete that the rapper shows support for.

The curse seemed to be for real on Wednesday, with the Leafs going down 2-0 within the first 6:38 of the game. Toronto battled back with two straight goals of their own, but David Pastrnak scored twice in the second period before the teams traded a pair of goals each in the final frame to gave Boston a 6-4 victory and a 2-2 tie in the series.

It's not a great omen for Leafs fans, but Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen offered up a simpler reason for why his team lost: The Bruins were simply better.

"They came pretty hard and were able to take advantage of some of their chances," Andersen said. "They probably came out a bit harder than we did."

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, caused a stir this week when AS Roma cheekily tweeted that it would not be allowing its players to take photographs with him through the rest of the season.

Roma's tweet was in response to a photo posted on Instagram by Paris Saint-Germain defender Layvin Kurzawa three days earlier. PSG went on to suffer a 5-1 loss on Sunday, its worst loss in a decade, followed by a 3-2 defeat to 14th-place Nantes on Wednesday.

Kurzawa played in both games for PSG.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

With the 🦉 @champagnepapi 🙏🏽 📸 @bassforreal

A post shared by Layvin Kurzawa 20 (@kurzawa_20) on

Not everyone believes in the Drake Curse, though. Boxer Anthony Joshua posed for a photo with Drake and showed little regard for superstition.

Is the Drake Curse real? After Game 4 it might seem that way for Leafs fans, but there's still plenty of hockey left to prove otherwise.

Rudi Schuller