3 Keys: Panthers at Maple Leafs, Game 2 of Eastern 2nd Round
Florida can jump to 2-0 series lead; Toronto focused on slowing down Tkachuk, Bennett
ByMike Zeisberger
NHL.com Staff Writer
(2WC) Panthers at (2A) Maple Leafs
Eastern Conference Second Round, Game 2
Florida leads best-of-7 series 1-0
7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS
TORONTO -- The Florida Panthers can take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series for the second time in their history, and first time on the road, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
The Panthers jumped to a 3-0 lead on the Boston Bruins in the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in their first postseason appearance after joining the NHL in 1993-94. Florida advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, where they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.
The Panthers can also win their fifth consecutive game in this postseason; they won the last three games in their first-round series to eliminate the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins in seven games, and won 4-2 at Toronto in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Florida was able to accomplish that by employing the same effective forecheck that helped it oust Boston. But Panthers coach Paul Maurice cautioned that winning Game 1 doesn't guarantee his team anything in Game 2.
"Not a big big believer in momentum," Maurice said. "I'm really not. It changes every time the puck drops.
"We make it 2-0 last game, we're probably feeling good about our game. They make it 2-1 and they get rolling. It'll get re-established the moment the puck drops tonight and then you've got to establish it again, shift by shift."
Florida did exactly that in Game 1, building a 2-0 lead before Toronto fought back to tie it. Unfazed by the Maple Leafs' pushback, the Panthers answered with a breakaway goal by center Carter Verhaeghe in the second period and did not trail after that.
Florida center Sam Reinhart said the Panthers are loose because of the lack of expectations on the team from the outside.
"We're not feeling any pressure," he said.
That's not the case for Toronto, which is trying to avoid a 2-0 series deficit heading to Game 3 at FLA Live Arena on Sunday.
The Maple Leafs lost the opener to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round before rebounding to win Game 2, and look for a similar result Thursday.
Asked how Toronto can create more offense than it did in Game 1, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe had a simple answer.
"Spend less time in our end," Keefe said. "We didn't have a lot of issues breaking out the other night, just extended time in our zone."
Here are 3 keys to Game 2:
1. Containing Tkachuk and Bennett
Easier said than done. The line of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Nick Cousins was dominant in Game 1: Tkachuk had three assists, Bennett a goal and an assist, and Cousins a goal. They were lethal on the forecheck too. On the goal by Cousins that opened the scoring, Tkachuk set the tone with a hard hit on Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano.
Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said puck movement is the key against that trio.
"I think trying to end plays earlier," he said. "They like playing behind the net, playing down low, so it's important that we're jumping pucks to end plays."
2. What about 'Bob'?
Can Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky keep up his recent form? After starting the playoffs on the bench behind Alex Lyon, he has been in goal for four consecutive victories, beginning with Game 5 of the first round against Boston. Bobrovsky's regular-season numbers (24-20-3, 3.07 goals-against average, .901 save percentage, one shutout) weren't spectacular, but his performance in the past four games (4-0, 1.70 GAA, .915 save percentage) has been.
