Panthers shutting down top Maple Leafs forwards, on cusp of 4-game sweep

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Paul Maurice began with a note of caution.

What the Florida Panthers coach said is that it is not as easy as the stark statistics, the Panthers not allowing a goal from the quartet of top offensive talents that take up the bulk of the oxygen and space under the NHL salary cap for the Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.

"I go through the video, and I don't feel that," Maurice said. "We gave up about five 2-on-1s in the first seven minutes of that game. The second half of Game 2, there's lots there. I think it's just inches inside the post and outside the post is the difference with those good players."

And yet, the Panthers have a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round after a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 on Sunday. The Maple Leafs are on the brink of elimination with zero goals and four assists by those four players (two by Matthews, one each by Marner and Nylander), the first time they've all been held without a goal in three consecutive games for as long as they've played together.

RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Panthers series coverage]

It's something the Panthers are hoping to continue in Game 4 at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS), when they try to make quick work of the series and move on to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1996.

Of course, if anyone is looking to simplify things, the explanation could come down to a single word.

"Bobrovsky," Maurice quipped. "That would be the end of that answer."

The Panthers have gotten a retro performance from Sergei Bobrovsky, a 34-year-old who has recaptured the magic that led him to win the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013 and 2017. He's allowed just two goals in each of the three games of the series, making 91 saves on 97 shots.

But it's not just him.

"We've just been doing the right things defensively, getting on top of the puck and blocking shots, doing all the simple right things that we need to do," defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "They're throwing the kitchen sink at us, and it's been tough, and 'Bob's' made some massive saves. I think the culmination of all that's been part of it."

The Panthers defense was not necessarily notable in the regular season, allowing 3.32 goals per game, 21st in the NHL. The Maple Leafs scored 3.39 goals per game (ninth), including 146 goals from those four players who also combined for 13 goals to help Toronto to a six-game win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.

Though Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares had opportunities in Games 1 and 2, there were far fewer in Game 3, when the pressure increased and the Panthers clamped down, shutting them down any time they ventured into the middle of the ice or the offensive zone, closing the lanes like they did during their eventual seven-game win against the Boston Bruins.

If there was any pressure, Bobrovsky was there to end it.

Part of it has been Ekblad's return to health. He left Game 3 against the Bruins after a collision with Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy and missed Game 4 before returning for Game 5, when the Panthers began a run of six straight wins.

"I think what you're seeing is Ekblad and [Aleksander] Barkov's game has built from Game 1 of the playoffs to now," Maurice said. "They're both really strong now. It goes to that appreciation. You get a little bit older, a little more time in. The desire and the need to play well at this time of year is strong with those two."

And it has made life difficult on the Maple Leafs stars. Though Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe has seen the same chances as Maurice, he's also seen possibility that he can only hope comes to fruition in Game 4.

"We've had a lot of scoring chances that haven't gone their way," Keefe said. "They were dominant in many ways in Game 2. They were not as dominant in Game 3. The Matthews-Marner line, I thought in the third period, especially in the first 15 minutes or so, every shift was spent in the offensive zone for the most part. Had some good looks, a lot of positive momentum. Those are the things I want them to be focused on."

The Panthers know it is not easy to keep a group of scorers off the score sheet like the ones they've neutralized over three games. They know those players will be going all-out in Game 4 because, really, what other choice do they have? Their season is on the line.

"This is not easy to do," Maurice said. "That's some world-class, high-end skill, transition skill, on that team, so I'll go back to my earlier answer and just say, Bobrovsky."