The Florida Panthers took down the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This was the second time in three years that the Panthers defeated the Leafs and knocked them out of the postseason. Their reward is taking a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
The trip is well deserved, and 2025 marks the third consecutive year in which the Cats made it this far into the playoffs. At the end of every playoff series, it's always good to do some introspection and look back at the things that the team did to get themselves to this point. So, how did we get here? The first part of this series begins with the early Toronto surge in the opening games of this playoff duel.
The Maple Leafs took a 2-0 series lead, defending their home ice valiantly. In Game 1, the Maple Leafs took advantage of a lackluster start by the Panthers. 33 seconds into the game, William Nylander scored to give the home team a 1-0 lead, and later on, at the 12:51 mark, scored again. By the end of the second, the Leafs built a 4-1 lead.
Florida almost completed another miracle comeback, which has been one of their specialties, only to come up short 5-4. In Game 2, it was much of the same from Florida's perspective, despite being closer to victory in that game. Just over five and a half minutes into the third period, Anton Lundell tied the game at three.
Unfortunately, 17 seconds later, Mitch Marner broke the tie, and it proved to be the winning goal in a 4-3 triumph for the hosting Leafs. Up to this point, Florida was down 0-2 due to making several mistakes. They didn't play their game at all. They were committing too many turnovers. They didn't look prepared coming out of the locker room.
The energy and intensity needed to win weren't there. Sergei Bobrovsky let in some weak goals that were uncharacteristic of his play. The Panthers just weren't themselves during the first two games. At the start of Game 3, it was looking that way as well. The Cats gave up two goals in the opening six minutes of the contest.
With Toronto up 3-1 early in the second period, it was looking as if Florida would be down 0-3. However, as the middle frame continued, the Panthers were slowly reverting back to their usual form. They were getting in on the forecheck. They were dumping pucks into the zone. The players had their normal physicality going. More shots on net were getting recorded.
By the time the 6:00 mark came, the Panthers tied the game up at three. The top six, who were struggling to generate offense, finally did so. Sam Reinhart scored the first goal, which was assisted by Evan Rodrigues and Aaron Ekblad. Then, Carter Verhaeghe's tally knotted the score up at three. His goal was assisted by Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.
Almost ten minutes after 'Swaggy's' goal, an unlikely hero emerged. The ultimate anime side character, known as Jonah Gadjovich, stole the show. Gadjo had his Kakashi Hatake-like moment by giving the Panthers just their second lead of the series. The fourth line featuring him, Tomas Nosek, and A.J. Greer struck lightning for the first time.
Unfortunately, Toronto's Morgan Rielly got a lucky goal that went off the leg of Seth Jones. So, the game had to go into overtime. One of Florida's biggest trade deadline acquisitions saved the team and changed the entire outlook of the series. Toronto's biggest villain once again began a backbreaking and sickening turn for Leafs fans.
Marchand's clutch overtime goal in Game 3 turned a potential 0-3 series deficit into a 1-2 deficit. That's a massive difference, and the momentum Florida sustained in the second half translated into Game 4. In Game 4, the Panthers fully went back to their old selves. They did everything that the team has been known for. In a defensive masterclass, Toronto only racked up 4 shots after the first period.
The game ended up being a low-scoring slugfest that Florida dominated the whole way. A late first-period power-play goal by Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead. The rest of the way, the team would play with more physicality and intensity that wasn't displayed in the earlier portion of the series.
They took care of the puck more, outshot Toronto 37-23, and continued their biggest strength, being perfect on the penalty kill. Sergei Bobrovsky, once again channeling his inner-Frank Dux, stood tall after being part of the struggles that hindered the team in the first two games. He pitched his second shutout, and the series was tied at two games apiece, going back to Toronto.
The ball just kept on rolling from there. Now, at this point, the Panthers turned into an unstoppable raging bull that couldn't be contained. They came back north of the border looking to earn that key road win that was needed. They arrived at Scotiabank Arena and came out of the gates like gangbusters. Once again, Toronto came out like their usual selves, and that's not a compliment.
An Aaron Ekblad goal at the 14:38 mark of the first period opened the scoring, and after the first, the 1-0 lead stayed intact. What happened in the middle frame was an event that nobody saw coming. You can attribute the upcoming events to either Florida kicking it up a notch or Toronto giving the world another shocking collapse. The Panthers simply broke the game open.
In nearly eight minutes, Dmitry Kulikov, Jesper Boqvist, and Niko Mikkola scored three unanswered goals to build Florida's lead. All of a sudden, a one-goal game had grown into an insurmountable advantage as the Cats gained a 4-0 lead. The game was all but over as the Maple Leafs, typical of their customs, looked like they quit in the third.
A.J. Greer and Sam Bennett didn't let up, though. They both scored a goal, with Bennett's coming on a power-play, adding more insult to injury. The Russian goaltending maestro nearly recorded back-to-back shutouts. Unfortunately, little-used Nicholas Robertson had to spoil the fun and somewhat spoil the humiliation for the Leafs by scoring a late garbage-time goal to make it 6-1.
Still, the defending Stanley Cup champions from the Sunshine State had taken the pivotal Game 5 and control of the series. Florida headed back to Sunrise, looking to close the series out in front of their home crowd for Game 6. Unfortunately, they got shut out in their barn by a score of 2-0. The match was scoreless through the first 40 minutes.
However, when watching the game, it seemed as if the Cats believed that the opposition would lie down and quit. That was understandable given the team they were playing. The Maple Leafs, with their 'core-4' of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares, have never responded well to adversity, which is why they've never gotten to the conference final.
However, the Panthers were proven wrong. Matthews finally showed up by scoring his first goal of the series at the 06:20 mark of the third. However, it wasn't even all that impressive. The shot was pretty weak and never even left the ice surface. It skidded on the ground and only went in because Bobrovsky was slow to react, for whatever reason. Max Pacioretty sealed the game with an odd-man rush goal at the 14:17 mark, and Toronto held serve, 2-0.
Toronto did something for once in their lives. They went on the road and kept their season alive. They set up a do-or-die Game 7 in their building. Surely, this was finally their year. The Leafs had everything laid out for them. All they had to do was win Game 7 in front of a sold-out and loud Scotiabank Arena. If they won this game, they would forever get rid of the label of postseason chokers. Would they?
Well, if they did, this piece wouldn't exist right now. Needless to say, it didn't go as planned for Maple Leaf partisans. Florida dominated the opening 10 minutes but didn't score. Then, this elimination contest took a brief turn. For the final 10 minutes of the first, it was the team wearing blue that turned up the intensity. Toronto had all the momentum. They even nearly got the game's opening goal.
Fortunately, Bobby is not a human. He is a brick wall.
Thanks to his heroics in the net, Florida was able to survive a potentially backbreaking event. Then, in the second period, the avalanche seen in Game 5 happened for the second time in five nights. First, at the 03:15 mark, deadline acquisition Seth Jones lit the lamp. Then, it was Anton Lundell's turn, off a big and juicy rebound given up by Joseph Woll. Finally, at the 09:39 mark, iconic anime side character Jonah Gadjovich had another defining moment.
The dude officially racked up more goals in the series than Auston Matthews. Once again, the Panthers had built a commanding lead on Toronto ice, and the crowd went silent. Early in the third, Max Domi scored to give the Leafs some life. However, it was all for not as 47 seconds later, Eetu Luostarinen once again sat the entire house down, by making it 4-1. And that was it.
Toronto's last breath had been taken away right before their own eyes. Sam Reinhart lit the lamp several minutes later to make it 5-1, and Brad Marchand put the icing on the cake with an empty-net goal. Once again, the handshake line saw the Leafs on the wrong end of the stick. This second-round playoff series is a chaotic tale that can be told for years, especially to the delight of Leaf haters.
Florida had pulled off a feat that the franchise had never done before. This series was the first time the Panthers won a playoff series after being down 0-2. Talk about a hungry team that wants to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Meanwhile, on the other side, this might be the last time hockey fans will see this exact Toronto roster together. They will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in NHL history, and it was Florida that ended the era.
Finally, enjoy the entire collection of Leafs playoff failures, the greatest movie franchsie of all time!