The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs began for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers Monday night. Toronto secured an early advantage in the best-of-seven series, defeating Florida in Game 1.
The Maple Leafs wasted no time establishing a lead. Forward William Nylander opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the first period, his fourth goal of the postseason. Assists on the play went to Max Pacioretty and Jake McCabe.
Toronto extended their lead later in the period when Nylander scored his second goal of the game, his fifth of the playoffs. Oliver Ekman-Larsson recorded an assist on the play. The Maple Leafs held a two-goal advantage before Florida responded.
Florida got on the board with a power-play goal from defenseman Seth Jones at 16:57 of the first period, cutting the deficit to one. However, Toronto quickly regained their two-goal lead.
Nineteen seconds after Florida's goal, Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly scored his third postseason goal with assists from John Tavares and Nylander. This goal put Toronto ahead 3-1. The Maple Leafs added a fourth goal in the second period to take a commanding lead into the final frame.
This matchup marks the second time in three years the Panthers VS Maple Leafs meet in the playoffs. Florida defeated Toronto in five games in the 2023 second round before advancing to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Cup last season.
The Panthers advanced to this round by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. The Maple Leafs needed six games to eliminate the Ottawa Senators in their first-round series. Several players, including Steven Lorentz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and goaltender Anthony Stolarz, face their former Florida Panthers teammates after winning the Stanley Cup with them last season.
Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad was unavailable for Game 1, serving the first game of a two-game suspension. The Panthers rely on their defensive structure and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, while the Maple Leafs boast high-powered offense led by players like Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Tavares.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube commented on the upcoming series: "You’ve got to play hard between the whistles. I think that's what you’ve got to focus on. You’ve got to protect your net. You got to do your job. There's … different scenarios that come up, but we want to play hard between the whistles. We got to be physical. We got to match their physicality, and got to be disciplined.”
