Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs has finally arrived. The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to get revenge against the Florida Panthers for the 4–1 series spanking of a loss in 2023. Hopefully, the Maple Leafs have learned from this series, and things will be much different this time around.
The Panthers were without Aaron Ekblad, serving the final game of his two-game suspension received in the Tampa Bay Lightning series. The Maple Leafs, who were looking to capitalize on this, started virtually the same lineup that was iced in Game 6 against the Ottawa Senators. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Maple Leafs were able to narrowly capture victory, hanging on 5–4. Let’s take a look at the main storylines coming out of Game 1 against the Florida Panthers.
Mindset: The Maple Leafs battled through adversity
The Maple Leafs went up 4–1 after two periods. Clearly, the Maple Leafs were the better team through 40 minutes. Their forechecking was a nightmare for the Panthers, who did not have enough time to make plays. The Maple Leafs were physical and plugged up the slot, blocking shots. The defence corps was responsible for 17 blocks out of the 24 on the night.
However, during the second period, Panthers’ Sam Bennett elbowed Anthony Stolarz in the head in the dying seconds of a power play. Stolarz left the game with a head injury and was taken off via stretcher during the third period. No penalty was called on the play:
Surely the Department of Player Safety is going to take a look at this. Just like Bennett’s hit on Matthew Knies in the previous series? I wouldn’t hold my breath. We took a look at how the Maple Leafs could combat the Panthers’ physical play and questionable playoff officiating, but the battle has started in Game 1.
Enter Joseph Woll, who has not played in the playoffs this year. He was forced to make a couple of quick, high-quality saves. However, the Panthers were able to score two quick goals within the first four minutes of the third period. Head Coach Craig Berube called a time-out to allow his team to collect itself. We all remember the famous 4–1 choke in 2013, so many Maple Leafs fans were on edge.
However, the Maple Leafs forced the Panthers to take some penalties. While the Maple Leafs did not score, they were able to build momentum. Toronto continued to push for offence, which led to the Matthew Knies’ 5–3 goal. The Panthers pulled their goalie, and then the war to drain the clock began.
Credit to the Maple Leafs. They kept the Panthers to the perimeter for most of the end of the period. The Panthers did score to make it 5–4 after a weird double deflection that went behind Woll.
The Maple Leafs were clearly the better team through the first two periods. Then lost their starting goaltender midway through the game, and had to mentally collect themselves after the Panthers made it 4–3. However, unlike what we saw in years past, the Maple Leafs battled through the adversity and didn’t choke.
The Nylander show
As we noted in our keys to victory over the Florida Panthers, the Core Four would have to show up. The Core Four’s stats in the 2023 series against the Panthers were abysmal:
Table 1. Table showing the distribution of points among the Core Four against the Florida Panthers in the 2023 playoff series
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auston Matthews | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| John Tavares | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| William Nylander | 2 | 1 | 3 | 24 |
In last night’s game, William Nylander did just that. Just 33 seconds into the opening frame, John Tavares with the screen and Nylander with an absolute rocket opens the scoring:
Nylander would not stop there. In the middle of the first period, Max Pacioretty sends the puck back to Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larrson shoots the puck, and Nylander, with the patented Mighty Ducks Triple Deke on the rebound, makes it 2–0:
Nylander has four goals in three straight playoff games against the Panthers. Nylander would also pick up an assist on Morgan Rielly’s goal, making it 3–1 after the first period. In the series against the Panthers in 2023, the Maple Leafs did not score more than two goals in a game. Already an improvement.
Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner got their chances, but could not bury them. Marner did pick up a secondary assist on Matthew Knies’ game winner:
A nail-biter of a finish, but at least the Maple Leafs superstars did show up and got the job done.
Defence Corps was an offensive threat
What sets this Maple Leafs’ team apart from previous iterations is the offensive contribution in the playoffs from the defence corps. In the previous series against the Senators, the Maple Leafs’ defence corps scored five goals and four assists. This includes Simon Benoit’s overtime winner in Game 3.
The defence corps was a key part of last night’s offence. After the Panthers score on the power play to make it 2–1, Nylander sends a beautiful saucer pass to Rielly, and he snipes it to regain the lead. Rielly has three goals and one assist for four points in seven playoff games this year. Rielly now leads all defencemen in franchise history in playoff goals with 14.
Chris Tanev would score his first of the playoffs to make it 4–1 Maple Leafs after the second period. On the night, the defence corps finished with two goals and four assists for six points. The Maple Leafs are going to need offence from the back-end if they want to go far.
Special teams did not deliver
The penalty kill started well, giving the Panthers absolutely nothing on their first power play opportunity. In all fairness, the call on Max Domi for cross-checking was quite questionable. The penalty kill allowed one goal on three opportunities. But it wasn’t the penalty kill that was the real killer, it was the power play.
The power play went zero-for-five on the night. While some power plays did get their looks and had pressure, some were quite deflating. Especially in the third period when the Panthers were within one. The first power play unit could not get it done, with Auston Matthews baubling the puck often or missing the net in the slot.
We know as the series progresses, the whistles are going to go away. It’s these moments that the Maple Leafs need to take advantage of the power play and convert. While going zero-for-five looks horrible, it’s Game 1. The Maple Leafs did get some decent looks, which is already improvement of the power play in recent years in the playoffs.
Onto the next
Despite the close finish, the Maple Leafs lead the series 1–0. The Maple Leafs play Game 2 in Toronto on Wednesday night. After such a lively affair, Game 2 is likely to be more of the same. Hopefully, Stolarz can return quickly, but it’s the playoffs. The Maple Leafs will have to find a way to push through.
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