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The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers have quickly turned around their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With a 6-1 thrashing of Toronto on the road last night, Florida has recovered from a 2-0 series deficit to take a 3-2 lead. The teams meet again in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 6 at 8 PM ET.
Coach Craig Berube took the Maple Leafs to the top of the Atlantic Division in his first year at the helm. Toronto has made the playoffs each of the past nine seasons, but this is only the second time during that stretch in which the team has advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
After jumping out to the early series lead and giving fans hope of advancing to the team’s first conference finals appearance in 23 years, Toronto is now one loss away from elimination. That’s extremely tough for a franchise that has not won, or even been to, a Stanley Cup since 1967. Conversely, the Panthers are looking to reach their third straight Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup finals. Florida won the first title in franchise history and has reached the finals four times since debuting in 1993-94.
Can Toronto extend the series, or will Florida move on again? Let’s break down each team’s play in Game 5 while previewing the Game 6 matchup and our Maple Leafs @ Panthers NHL pick.
After two close losses, including one defeat in overtime, the Maple Leafs were simply flattened last night. The team was down four goals after two periods, and only a Nick Robertson tally with 66 seconds left prevented Toronto from being shut out for the second straight game. After opening the series with two gritty, one-goal victories, the Maple Leafs have lost three straight and been outscored 13-5 during that stretch, including 8-1 in the last two contests.
Scoring has quickly become a major issue. After averaging more than 3.5 goals a game through their first nine postseason contests, Toronto’s offense has disappeared. The team scored at least three goals in eight of its first nine postseason games, which included a 4-2 first-round series win over the Ottawa Senators. Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews combined for 105 goals and 264 total points in the regular season. Nylander (6G, 9A), Marner (2G, 10A), and Matthews (2G, 8A) are also leading Toronto in postseason points. The three standouts have been shut out in the last two games. No goals. No assists.
That’s the problem on the front end. The back end may be even more dire. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz is 4-2 with a 2.19 goals against average and .901 save percentage this postseason. But he was knocked out of Game 1 of this series in the second period thanks to an elbow to the head by Florida’s Sam Bennett. Stolarz has not returned and is not expected to play in this series. His replacement, Joseph Woll, has been subpar to say the least. He is just 2-3 with a 4.02 GAA and .877 save percentage in the postseason. He’s allowed 12 goals in the last three games.
The Panthers pounded the scorebook in Game 5. Six players scored goals, led by Jesper Boqvist and Aaron Ekblad with a goal and an assist each. Sam Reinhart and Nate Schmitt both had two assists. Five of Florida’s defensemen recorded points in the game, with three scoring goals. This postseason, Sam Bennett leads the Panthers with 6 playoff goals, while Reinhart paces the team with 10 total points.
Sergei Bobrovsky was again spongy in net, making 31 saves and only allowing that near last-minute goal by Robertson. Bobrovsky has stopped 54-of-55 shots in the last two games and has a 2.46 GAA this postseason.
If Woll can’t stop Florida’s offensive onslaught, and if the Maple Leafs offense does not return to its earlier postseason form, this series will not return to Toronto.
Florida has found its championship rhythm and expects to keep those vibes flowing at home tomorrow night, where it has won three straight playoff games. Bennett is one of the Panthers who has picked up the pace. He has scored in two consecutive games, three times in the series, and six times this postseason.
With the chance to close out the series at home, Bennett is well-positioned to score a goal yet again for Florida.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.