May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand (63) is knocked over by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev (8) during the second period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Brad Marchand has seen his fair share of playoff battles against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In fact, he’s never lost one.
As a cornerstone of the Boston Bruins and a former captain of the club, he helped eliminate the Leafs four times in 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2024, all in a seven-game series.
But this year, wearing a Florida Panthers jersey and staring down a retooled Leafs team, Marchand, among others, is seeing a real shift in Toronto’s identity, structure, and play style.
“They’re continuing to get better and grow as a group,” Marchand said following the Panthers’ 4-3 loss to the Leafs in Game 2 of their second-round series. “They brought a lot of good pieces in at the deadline and the offseason to kind of adjust their back end. They’re heavy back there. Obviously, their coaching has changed, and their structure is very, very good right now, especially in the D zone.”
It’s a different brand of hockey.
This marks the first postseason run under head coach Craig Berube. The Leafs have traded the high-flying, offensive style of past years for a more structured, defensively responsible approach, and so far, it's paying off. The club has taken care of home-ice advantage in the series, jumping out to a 2-0 series lead heading to Florida for Games 3 and 4.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the Leafs are 11-0 all-time in best-of-seven series when taking a 2-0 lead on home ice.
Many had the defending Stanley Cup champions as favorites entering the series, but the 36-year-old acknowledged the challenge of facing a more disciplined, defensively sound Leafs team with a revamped back end. Down two games to none, this series is shaping up to be unlike the ones he was a part of as a Bruin.
The Panthers have their work cut out for them in Sunrise.
“They don’t give up a whole lot around the net. We knew it was going to be a really tough battle; we didn’t expect to roll over them by any means,” said Marchand. “So, we have our work cut out. They’re playing really well, and obviously, their top guys are capitalizing on every opportunity, it seems like.”
"They came ready to play this round. We see that," he added.
In Games 1 and 2, the Leafs have managed to score nine goals on Sergei Bobrovsky, despite playing with a defense-first mindset. Their ability to strike off the rush, capitalize on small mistakes, and find offense with little time and space has made for a frustrating opening to the series for the Panthers.
Simply put, Toronto has punished Florida when chances have appeared.
“Their biggest threat is that they’re very good on the rush. You gotta be above them. It seemed like every time we gave them the opportunity to get above us, they created something or they capitalized on it,” said Marchand.
“It just shows how dangerous they are. It doesn’t take much for them to score. We just have to make sure we’re pretty much perfect out there on our defensive coverage,” he added.
Despite the 2-0 hole to climb out of, Marchand has done his usual damage offensively against the Leafs, picking up one goal, two assists, and three points across the first two games. In the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has one goal, six assists, and seven points in seven games.
The series is far from over, but against a Leafs team that seems to be putting all the pieces together at the right time, it’ll be a tough challenge to overcome.
-1743684737-q80.webp "BREAKING: Howie Roseman Draws a Hard Line: Eagles Will NOT Sign Players with a History of Violence Against Women")
