The Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In a classic, low-scoring affair, the Cats fully reverted to their style of play. They shut down the opposition's top players, imposed themselves physically, won board battles, got big saves from Sergei Bobrovsky when needed, and scored timely goals.
In the 2-0 slugfest, Carter Verhaeghe scored a power-play goal late in the first period. After, Florida played their typical hard-nosed defense and hung onto the slim lead throughout the second period and most of the third period. Then, at the 12:09 mark, Sam Bennett patiently waited for an opening to put the puck in the back of the net to put away the Game 4 win.
Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his second shutout of these playoffs, and the fifth of his career. Ironically, Bobby's other shutout of these playoffs also ended in a 2-0 score, against Tampa Bay in Game 2. Now, with the series turned on its axis, Florida looks to take a 3-2 series lead when they play the Maple Leafs in Toronto for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
How To Watch Panthers vs. Maple Leafs, Game 5
Date: Wednesday, May 14 Time: 7:00 PM ET Venue: Scotiabank Arena TV: ESPN Series tied at 2-2-
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs Odds, Spreads, and Total
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Puck Line
Florida -1.5 (+180) Toronto +1.5 (-218)
Total
5.5 (over -122/ under +102)
Moneyline
Florida -142 Toronto +120
Florida Panthers Injury Report
N/A
Toronto Maple Leafs Injury Report
Anthony Stolarz, G: Day-To-Day (Head); Jani Hakanpaa, D: IR-LT (Knee)
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
- Evan Rodrigues- Aleksander Barkov- Sam Reinhart
- Carter Verhaeghe- Sam Bennett- Matthew Tkachuk
- Eetu Luostarinen- Anton Lundell- Brad Marchand
- A.J. Greer- Tomas Nosek- Jonah Gadjovich
- Gustav Forsling- Aaron Ekblad
- Niko Mikkola- Seth Jones
- Nate Schmidt- Dmitry Kulikov
- Sergei Bobrovsky
- Vitek Vanacek
Scratches: Mackie Samoskevich, Jesper Boqvist, Nico Sturm
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
- Matthew Knies- Auston Matthews- Mitch Marner
- Max Pacioretty- John Tavares- William Nylander
- Steven Lorentz- Scott Laughton- Calle Jarnkrok
- Bobby McMann- Max Domi- Pontus Holmberg
- Jake McCabe- Chris Tanev
- Morgan Rielly- Brandon Carlo
- Simon Benoit- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Joseph Woll
- Matt Murray
Scratches: David Kampf
Panthers Keys To the Game
One of the team's biggest strengths has been their stupendous penalty killing. In this series, Florida has had an 87% success rate, killing 13 of 15 Toronto power plays. The special-teams battle was one of the primary factors in determining the outcome of this series. The Panthers have been winning that battle, and it's paying off. This needs to continue if the Panthers want to grab a series lead.
Taking away Toronto's ability to score in bunches will win this series for the Panthers. There is still plenty of work that has to be done, however, they've been able to accomplish this goal to near perfection. If they keep being aggressive on the kill, working the boards, and getting timely clears, Florida will be in great shape.
How many goals has Auston Matthews scored through the first four games of this series? Zero. You read that right. The Leafs' top offensive weapon has yet to find the back of the net heading into Game 5. Toronto has an offensive-heavy lineup, which means they were always capable of generating offense. The Maple Leafs have been able to do so, especially during the early part of the series.
Mitch Marner has chipped in along with William Nylander and Morgan Reilly. However, their leader has been nowhere to be found. This is a plus for the Cats. They have repeatedly been able to shut down the top player of the opposition in several playoff series. Keep doing this to Matthews. Just make him uncomfortable all over the ice and don't give him many chances to get to his favorite spots on the ice.
For those who read our Game 4 preview, you saw that one of our keys to victory was to get the first goal. Florida did that and went on to claim a victory in said game. Now, they have to do that on the road. If you want to win a Stanley Cup, winning behind enemy lines is essential. This team knows that and is used to it by now.
Last series against Tampa, Florida, swept the three games played at Amalie Arena. This second-round series began in Toronto, and the Panthers lost both games. Now, that doesn't seem like a massive deal since they came back and won both their home games. However, the goal remains the same: win one road game, and it changes everything.
The Cats came out flat in the first two contests of this series. That can't happen again, and shouldn't, if the Panthers are to return to the Eastern Conference Final. They need to come out with energy. If they can do that again, they will win this matchup. They just need to play harder and smarter than their opponent.
Notes:
- Evan Rodrigues left Game 4 after a high hit thrown by Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the third period. There's still no word on whether he can play in Game 5, but he has been practicing with the team.
- Eight different Panthers skaters (Lundell, Verhaeghe, Tkachuk, Reinhart, Marchand, Luostarinen, Barkov, Bennett) have racked up at least eight points each this postseason. No other team can say that.
- Aaron Ekblad notched an assist for the third consecutive game and has logged at least one point in four straight contests (1-3-4), earning a plus-four rating in that stretch.
- Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff goal against the Maple Leafs, who selected him with the No. 82 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. The only players in NHL history with more versus a franchise that chose them in the NHL Draft are Reggie Leach(10 vs. Boston), Bobby Holik(8 vs. Carolina/Hartford), Daniel Cleary(7 vs. Chicago), Jude Drouin(7 vs. Montreal), Valeri Nichushkin(7 vs. Dallas), Martin Gelinas(6 vs. Los Angeles, and Michael Ryder(6 vs. Montreal).
- Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his second shutout of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has become the first goaltender to post multiple shutouts in back-to-back postseasons since Cam Talbot(2 in 2020 & 2021).
- Carter Verhaeghe tied Corey Perry, Alex Ovechkin, and Patrick Kane(all with 11) for the fifth-most game-winning goals among active players.
- Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his fifth career playoff shutout, which tied Petr Mrazek(6) for the sixth-most among active goaltenders.