To be fair, if it weren't for Grabovski mocking the B's bench during the final 10 mins of the game (pointing at the score board) and Reimer playing with the same poise of a cat on skates, the Leafs would of won that series despite going in as massive underdogs. Who knows what would of happened after that.
They were outplayed that entire series , what happened was a culmination of the Leafs playing above their means and imploding because they didn't actually have the team to handle playoff hockey. They were not a very good team, as evidence by them not making the playoffs after that season until Babcock. You have to remember, the Leafs were in a downward trend down that final stretch of games having lost 4 of their last 6 games. They struggled to clinch and had the season been longer, they may have missed the playoffs.
The point is, people exaggerate how successful playing that style of hockey is, especially in today's game. The game is just different today and there's no sense in glorifying past failures because they played "tough". I loved those teams too but the past is in the past and while there are some things that can be altered, wanting to go back to the early 00's style of play, will be a disaster