NOTEBOOK: Spreading out the offense; Bobrovsky in brick-wall mode

TORONTO – The job’s not done yet.

After clawing their way out of a 2-0 hole, the Florida Panthers have won three straight games against the Toronto Maple Leafs to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round series.

On Wednesday, the Panthers looked dominant in a 6-1 win at Scotiabank Arena.

"It's been a tight series, and still is,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said on Thursday morning in Toronto. “We're looking forward to coming back home and finishing the job tomorrow night."

After erasing a 3-1 deficit and coming from behind to win 5-4 in overtime in Game 3, the Panthers have been playing their patented brand of hockey against the Maple Leafs ever since.

In addition to going 6-for-6 on the penalty kil, the Panthers made life miserable for Toronto at 5-on-5 in Games 4 and 5, leading 6-1 in goals and controlling 59.28% of shot attempts.

Getting off to great starts, they held a lead after the first period in each game as well.

“I don’t know how far off we were in Game 1 because we got behind it so quickly,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the team’s performance at 5-on-5. “Even in Game 2, depending on what sources you use, we have our own, the analytics were better than the final score said. Of the last four games that we’ve played even strength, last night was our smallest margin for offense. The final score doesn’t tell you how the games played for the most part.”

As they try to complete their comeback and eliminate the Maple Leafs in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday, the Panthers know they’ll need more of the same at 5-on-5.

If they do advance, it’ll be their third straight trip to the Eastern Conference Final.

“The next one is the hardest one,” defenseman Niko Mikkola said.

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A TEAM EFFORT

Everyone is getting in on the action for the Panthers.

Through their first 10 games of the playoffs, the defending Stanley Cup champions have already had 17 different players -- yes, 17! -- find the back of the net.

Per NHL stats, the Panthers are the first team to achieve such a feat of diversity on the offensive side of the puck since the Los Angels Kings did so all the way back in 1993.

"Well, I'm thinking that we've got 26 guys here [on our playoff roster], so that makes nine guys that are getting chirped pretty hard every day,” Maurice said of the impressive statistic.

In their 6-1 rout of the Maple Leafs in Game 5, the Panther saw Jesper Boqvist, Dmitry Kulikov, Mikkola and A.J. Greer all score their first goals this postseason.

Overall, four of the team’s 17 goal scorers this postseason are also first-time scorers in the NHL playoffs, a group that includes Boqvist, Greer, Jonah Gadjovich and Uvis Balinskis.

As always, depth is the name of the game come playoff time.

“The fact that you can spread it around will curate into a belief that they can score because they have,” Maurice said. “In the last 10 games, they’ve scored a goal. They feel good about where they’re at. … To have a number of guys coming to the rink feeling good about their game is great.”

EKBLAD ON FIRE

One player that’s certainly feeling good about their game right now is Aaron Ekblad.

By beating Joseph Woll with a blocker-side snipe from the right circle to open the scoring for the Panthers in Game 5, the veteran defenseman extended his point streak to five games.

During his streak, he’s notched two goals and three assists.

But it isn’t just the points that have been impressing for No. 5.

Helping the Panthers turn a 2-0 series deficit into a 3-2 series lead, Ekblad accumulated four points (one goal, three assists), 10 hits and two blocked shots in Games 3, 4 and 5.

In addition to ranking tied for first on the Panthers in points over those three games, he also leads the team’s defensemen with a 71.66% share of expected goals at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

A workhorse as always, he’s doing all of that while averaging 24:03 of ice time per tilt.

“He’s been awesome for us ever since he came back,” Forsling said of his defensive partner. “He’s playing physical. He’s scoring goals. He’s been doing everything for us.”

BRICK WALL

If you’re looking for bricks, look no further than Florida’s crease.

Always a reliable source of saves, Sergei Bobrovsky has been especially strong as of late.

After stopping all 23 shots he faced in a 2-0 win in Game 4, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner surrendered just one goal in the 6-1 win in Game 5 while stopping 31 of 32 shots.

In both wins, he robbed Maple Leafs leading scorer William Nylander on a breakaway.

“We trust in Bob like you wouldn't believe,” Ekblad said. "We're proud every night to play in front of that guy."

Stepping up, Bobrovsky stopped a combined 15 of the 16 high-danger shots he faced in Games 4 and 5.

Per NaturalStatTrick.com, he saved 5.66 goals above expected in that span.

Come playoff time, who’s better to have in net than No. 72?

“If we’re going to make a mistake, there’s one guy who can back us up,” Mikkola said.