SUNRISE, Fla. — Uh oh.
They needed four chances, but the Florida Panthers have located their A-game.
Which should snap the Toronto Maple Leafs to attention quicker than seeing a fin poking out the Atlantic Ocean during a bodysurf session.
More than the result of Sunday’s 2-0, series-tying shutout, the way the Panthers took it to the unwelcome visitors by dictating style and sticking to structure is concerning here.
The Panthers’ forecheck punished the Leafs early and often. They suffocated the life out of Toronto’s offence and cut down on those costly odd-man rushes.
The Cats took a sharp right hook in Toronto and countered with a weighty left once they got the Leafs on their own turf.
“They’re doing a good job with swarming us with numbers,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “And we got to do better job getting that puck out of there quicker.”
Captain Auston Matthews noted how relentlessly the home team sustained offensive-zone pressure, which resulted in some undisciplined penalties and too many turnovers on the scary side of the red line.
“There was times where we were better, but I think just consistently, over the 60 minutes, they outworked us and outplayed us in that area,” Matthews said.
“They did a good job keeping us on the outside, and (it was) hard getting to the inside. Letting their goalie see the puck,” William Nylander added. “Yeah, they did a great job. I mean, 2-2 series. It’s tough battle.”
A few factors were at play here.
Florida coach Paul Maurice is adjusting to Toronto’s attempts to stretch out the neutral zone and get behind the Panthers’ defence for rush chances.
The Maple Leafs committed the first four minor penalties of the game, and Carter Verhaeghe one-timed a power-play goal past a superb Joseph Woll while Oliver Ekman-Larsson served a puck-over-glass infraction.
“Spend half the game in the box, it’s hard to generate momentum,” Matthews said. “It’s hard to generate energy and life for the bench, you know. So, that’s on us to be more disciplined.”
And Sergei Bobrovsky finally performed like the future Hall of Famer he is.
“I think we just totally take him for granted, which happens to all elite goaltenders,” Maurice said.
Less than the special teams or the goaltending battle, though, it was Sunday’s 5-on-5 game flow that screamed Florida and had viewers catching flashbacks to the 2024 Cup run.
Low scoring. Hard hitting. Patient and punishing.
“That was more like the Panthers playoff hockey that were used to,” said Sam Bennett, who scored the insurance goal.
While the Leafs’ middle six was outshot at even-strength to an ugly degree (14-3), we’ve reached the point in the post-season where there is no denying that the Maple Leafs need more from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
“We knew it wasn’t gonna be easy,” Matthews said. “We’re playing the defending Cup champs.”
Matthews doesn’t have a goal in the series. Marner had the Game 2 winner, a knuckler from distance. There is the usual talk of strong defensive play and getting snakebit, but sustained stretches of offensive dominance are lacking.
“There’s guys that could do more, for sure, and when we’re going to need more out of them,” said Berube, without naming names. “We’ll figure that out and handle that.”
Maurice suggested the league might handle Max Domi’s boarding of Panthers star Aleksander Barkov at the buzzer, which sparked a series of scrums and threats.
“Trying to take a run at Barky at the end there.,” Bennett said. “It’s been a physical series, so I expect more of that.”
(Barkov is fine, according to his coach; Evan Rodrigues needs further evaluation from a hit he took from Ekman-Larsson.)
Matthew Tkachuk appeared to say he’d be going after Nylander in Game 5. Matthew Knies appeared to suggest Tkachuk take on him instead.
“Just talking. It’s what he does,” Nylander says. He’ll probably do whatever he can to get a player off their game. But next one’s gonna be a fun one.”
They say a series doesn’t truly begin until the road team wins.
Well, we’re still waiting.
“We’re both resilient, which is making for a great series,” says Brad Marchand.
And now the pressure has shifted once more. It falls on the Maple Leafs to impose their game, for their superstars to make a greater impact here.
A best-of-three starts Wednesday in Toronto.
Should be a doozy.
“It’s playoff hockey, and very rarely it’s going to be a walk in the park,” Woll said. “We’re expecting a long series.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Berube has been loyal to his bottom-six forwards for nearly three weeks, sticking with the same lineup since Game 3 of the Ottawa series.
Time for some fresh legs and a new look thrown at the Cats in Game 5.
“For sure we’ll talk about it and look at a couple different options and what we think will be best for our team,” Berube says. “We got a couple days to think about it and see if we feel that’s a better option.”
David Kämpf and Nick Robertson are ready and eager.
Depth wingers like Calle Järnkrok, Pontus Holmberg, and Bobby McMann (21-game goal drought) haven’t played well enough to be irreplaceable.
• Simon Benoit’s eight hits tied a game high. None were bigger than this beauty on Sam Reinhart:
• Tkachuk still looks like a man playing on half a groin. He’s fine once in zone and makes smart decisions on the power play, but he has no first step and is arriving late to hits on the forecheck.
“I’m feeling physically great,” proclaims Tkachuk, who spent the time between 4 Nations and the post-season recovering. “I’m very happy to be out there. It was a long time off. I’m just happy to be out there with the guys. There’s nothing better.”
• Leafs goalie legend Curtis Joseph revealed on Spittin’ Chiclets that he worked behind the scenes with Jack Campbell on mental preparation for the playoffs in 2021 and 2022.
“Your mind is a powerful thing, and you can talk yourself into playing well,” Joseph explained on the podcast. “I’d give him a lot of pointers, and he played great. That’s fun for me. But this year, I wasn’t going near those guys (Woll and Anthony Stolarz). They played so good.”
One of those points? “Never take blame for a loss.”
Despite the pressure and increased expectations, Woll dialled in his game something wonderful Sunday, making 35 saves.
“He’s mentally focused,” Berube says. “He’s really into that side of the game. So, he’s in a good spot. I mean, you’re not going to save them all. He just needs to go and do what he needs to do to give us a chance.”
• Happy Mother’s Day, ladies! Here’s some wholesome content.
Marner on Stephanie: “A special day for myself and my wife. It’s her first Mother’s Day. It’s something really cool. Can’t wait to get home tomorrow, see the little guy, and celebrate with them for Mother’s Day. It’s a cool day to share with my wife and both moms.”
Nylander on Camilla: “Just amazing. She was dealing with four other kids while my dad was playing, so it’s incredible what she did by herself while my dad was on the road. I owe it all to her, just the hours she spent lugging the family around, getting me and my brother (Alex) to practices and bringing my sisters along with us. It’s just been amazing.”
Chris Tanev on Sophie: “Every kid who’s been in hockey can attest to your mom driving to the rink at 6 a.m. and working extremely hard at her job and still coming home and taking my brothers and I to hockey and taking care of us. Making sure we have good things to eat and our laundry is done and the house is clean. It’s not an easy job. Can’t thank her enough for what she’s done.”
