It was a frustrating and disappointing Friday night for Florida Panthers fans. After dropping the first two games of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against Toronto, the Cats won three straight. That was including the critical road victory in Game 5. Everything was set up for Florida to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Final to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
They had the home-ice advantage, and many around the hockey world once again thought the Leafs were toast. Then, the Panthers proceeded to lay a diabolical and embarrassing egg in front of their home crowd. The Cats didn't seem to be engaged at all, and it looked as if they didn't even want to suit up and play. Florida only racked up two shots on goal after the first 20 minutes.
Their play did pick up in the middle frame, but they were unable to put a puck past Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll. They put 12 shots on net in the second period, but once the final 20 minutes came, they looked disinterested again. There were tons of sloppy passes and a lack of urgency to close out the series at home. They struggled to win face-offs again. They didn't shoot enough.
Whenever they did shoot, the puck either missed the net or got blocked by Toronto defenders. Florida also shot itself in the skate-covered foot by not registering a goal on four power-play opportunities. The game was scoreless throughout the first 40 minutes. In the third, Aaron Ekblad committed a horrendous turnover in the neutral zone.
Soon after, Auston Matthews, who didn't find an offensive groove all series long, took a weak shot that skidded on the ice surface. Somehow, some way, Sergei Bobrovsky couldn't stop the shot, and the Maple Leafs got the first goal at the 6:20 mark of the third period. At the 14:17 mark, Max Pacioretty scored on an odd-man rush to give them a 2-0 lead that would remain intact.
Now, the Panthers have to head back across the border and play a Game 7 in Scotiabank Arena. They are a great road team and have consistently demonstrated this in recent playoff years. However, the odds are stacked against them, and the challenge is heightened. The team looks to continue their Stanley Cup defense with a big and signature away win. Their season is reduced to one game.
How to watch Panthers vs. Maple Leafs, Game 7
Date: Sunday, May 18 Time: 7:30 PM ET Venue: Scotiabank Arena TV: TNT, Tru TV, MAX Series Tied 3-3
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs Odds, Spreads, and Total
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Puck Line
Florida -1.5 (+200) Toronto +1.5 (-245)
Total
5.5 (over +136/ under -162)
Moneyline
Florida -130 Toronto +110
Florida Panthers Injury Report
Evan Rodrigues, W/C: Day-To-Day (Head)
Toronto Maple Leafs Injury Report
Anthony Stolarz, G: Out (Head); Jani Hakanpaa, D: IR-LT (Knee)
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
- Jesper Boqvist- 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, Nico Sturm
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
- Matthew Knies- Auston Matthews- Mitch Marner
- Pontus Holmberg- John Tavares- William Nylander
- Steven Lorentz- Scott Laughton- Calle Jarnkrok
- Bobby McMann- Max Domi- Max Pacioretty
- 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
It was mentioned at the top. The Panthers showed up unprepared. It felt as if the entire team woke up and got out of bed 20 minutes before puck drop. They came out flat, which was the problem in the opening two games of the series. For some reason, the Cats have always had this issue with this core of players. Everyone knows they are a great team.
When the Cats play their best and when their opponents do the same, Florida wins. They just have too much talent, depth, and versatility. However, these guys don't always come into games with the light switch turned on. That's how they failed to sweep Tampa Bay last year. That's why the Bruins blew them out in Game 1 last year.
That's why they were forced to play a Game 7 against Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final after leading 3-0 last year. Even in the 2023 playoff run, they failed to sweep Toronto in Game 4 because they didn't show up early. This trend doesn't make sense at all. These guys need to be ready to play from the jump. If not, it will be a long summer of "what if?" Florida needs to be aggressive right away.
Florida was only able to rack up 22 shots on net. That's not enough. As mentioned earlier, they only had two shots on net in the first 20 minutes. Most of their 'damage' was seen in the second period. I use 'damage' very loosely because none of the shots taken by Florida were hard saves for Woll to make. They didn't test him up high. They didn't get him to sprawl around the crease.
Even worse, they didn't have many stretches where they were in the offensive zone for extended periods of time. The Panthers usually saw a shot or two, maybe three, in the offensive zone, and then the puck was cleared. How are you going to win a playoff game if you don't tire the opposition? Even some of the power plays were terrible.
The Cats spent more time chasing the cleared pucks and trying to set up. That needs to change. Be aggressive on the forecheck and keep the puck in. Pass the puck quickly and make the defense move around, and shoot towards the net. Make the Leafs work for clears. Don't just go through the motions and allow them to defend effortlessly.
This one is pretty simple. Don't do anything stupid. Everyone can look directly at Aaron Ekblad for this one. It always seems like he has the potential to make one backbreaking mistake that hinders the team's chances of winning. That was the case in Game 6 when he turned the puck over in the neutral zone, which led to the Matthews goal. However, this goes for everyone on the team.
Don't force passes. Don't turn the puck over. Don't take dumb penalties. For Sergei Bobrovsky, stop getting too cute in handling the puck. Maybe many haven't noticed, but there have been times when Bob has been a little lackadaisical and has nearly had the puck stripped from behind him. Always have two guys behind the play. It's all the little things that determine winning and losing.
Notes:
- Florida has played in four Game 7's all-time(3-1). Their last was Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, a 2-1 win.
- Paul Maurice is 5-0 in Game 7's as a head coach.
- The Panthers look to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight postseason and fourth time in franchise history (also 1996). The last reigning champion to reach the Conference Finals was the Lightning (in both 2021 and 2022, following their wins in 2020 and 2021).
- Brad Marchand has recorded 12-22—34 in 33 playoff games against the Maple Leafs, trailing only Gordie Howe(20-33—53 in 55 GP) and Alex Delvecchio(10-25—35 in 41 GP) for themost against the franchise.
- This will be the 201st Game 7 in Stanley Cup Playoffs history and the third of these playoffs.
- Each of Florida’s past three Game 7s has been a one-goal decision (including two in OT). The Panthers are 1-1 in Game 7 overtime.
- Florida can become the third franchise to win each of its first three road Game 7s (only PIT and MIN have done so) and eighth to win at least three straight road Game 7sat any point, after Pittsburgh (6-0; 1992-2017), Carolina (3-0; 2009-present), NY Rangers (3-0; 2013-2022), Los Angeles (3-0; 2014), Minnesota (3-0; 2003-2014), Montreal (3-0; 2004-2010) and Edmonton (3-0; 1991-1998).
- Florida will be the 25th team to play a Game 7 in three straight years and one of two clubs with an active run of that nature (also DAL: 4 in a row from 2022 to 2025).
- Brad Marchand(1-2—3 in Game 7s vs. TOR; 4-0 record) can become the first player in NHL history to defeat the same opponent in at least five winner-take-all games. The only other player with four such wins against one opponent is Red Kelly, who went 4-0 against Montreal in Game 7s with Detroit (3-0) and Toronto (1-0).
- The Florida players with a series-clinching goal: Carter Verhaeghe(2;2023 R1&2022 R1), Sam Bennett(2025 R1), Sam Reinhart(2024 SCF), Gustav Forsling(2024 R2), Aleksander Barkov(2024 R1), and Matthew Tkachuk(2023 CF).