TORONTO – We meet again.
Going head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years, the Florida Panthers will travel north to face-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
In 2023, the Panthers eliminated the Maple Leafs in Round 2 in five games.
"It's that us against the world mentality that we've talked about for a few years now,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said of the series. “It seems that when we go up against the toughest tasks and the great teams, we seem to relish that opportunity. Hopefully we can do that again tonight and in this series because Toronto's one of the best teams in the league."
Kicking off their quest to defend their Stanley Cup, the Panthers punched their ticket to Round 2 by eliminating the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in Round 1.
Having their hands full in a heated Battle of Ontario, the Maple Leafs pushed through to Round 2 by eliminating the Ottawa Senators in six games, including two overtime wins.
The top seed in the Atlantic Division, Toronto has home-ice advantage in Round 2.
“They have a lot of similar tendencies to Tampa Bay,” forward Evan Rodrigues said of facing the Maple Leafs. “I think they lead off the rush, they like to hang on to pucks and make plays. Taking away their rush game I think will probably be a big key [to the series].”
After leading the Panthers in scoring with 81 points (39 goals, 42 assists) in the regular season, Sam Reinhart logged a team-high six points (two goals, four assists) in Round 1.
Making an immediate impact in his return to action, Tkachuk, who missed the final 25 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, scored three goals in Round 1.
Showing off their depth and spreading out the offense, Sam Bennett (three goals, two assists), Eetu Luostarinen (one goal, four assists), Anton Lundell (two goals, three assists) and Aleksander Barkov (one goal, four assists) all tallied five points against Tampa Bay.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky went 4-1 with a 2.21 goals-against average.
Leading the charge for Toronto, William Nylander had a team-high nine points (three goals, six assists) in Round 1. Backing him up against Ottawa, Mitch Marner had eight points (one goal, seven assists) and Auston Matthews notched seven points (two goals, five assists).
Between the pipes, Anthony Stolarz, who backed up Bobrovsky during last year’s run to the Stanley Cup, went 4-2 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.
In addition to Stolarz, Steven Lorentz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, two more key members of Florida’s championship squad in 2023, will take the ice for the Maple Leafs in Game 1.
“We had a good relationship, that’s true,” Bobrovsky said of facing Stolarz. “It was a good partnership as well last year. It’s going to be good. It’s going to be fun. He’s a good goalie.”
If you’re looking for an X-factor in this series, look no further than special teams.
It’ll been Toronto’s power play against Florida’s penalty kill.
In Round 1, the Panthers made Tampa Bay’s elite power play look pedestrian while going 16-for-18 on the penalty kill, including a crucial five-minute kill in their win in Game 4.
Putting all their eggs in one basket, the Maple Leafs have found success with a five-forward approach on the power play, cashing in on 35.3% of their opportunities against Ottawa.
Riding their power play to a series win in Round 1, Toronto was less successful at 5-on-5, where despite outscoring the Senators they controlled just 44.92% of shot attempts.
If the Panthers can lock it down on the penalty kill again, they’ll be in a good spot.
“It allows for interchangeability,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the five-forward approach on the power play. “You don’t see on power plays with a defined defenseman up top that he rotates very much. He moves side to side, maybe gets down on the flank, but there won’t be a lot of interchange that happens. There’s more with the five-forward power play. You could start at the top and end up at the net. They’ve got enough experience doing those things. There will be quite a bit more movement, we feel, in their power play.”
THEY SAID IT
“They obviously won the division this year. They’re a very talented team, very offensive. We have our work cut out for us.” – Seth Jones on facing the Maple Leafs
“They’re amazing on both sides. Reino scored 57 goals last year, and this year he’s a Selke nominee. It does not happen often with the same guy. He can score goals, he can defend, he can do everything. Same with Barky. Barky is so deep. He’s got unbelievable skills all around.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart
“They’re confident in it right now. They’ve got a tremendous amount of skill and talent. Just try to make them uncomfortable as possible out there.” – Sam Reinhart on Toronto’s five-forward power play
“He’s been amazing. Big, strong guy. He works really hard. He’s been a perfect fit for us.” – Gustav Forsling on Nico Sturm
“It’s the best time of the year. You want to play every other night and stay in a rhythm. Every game, every series, you’re looking to extend your season by another 14 days or however long the series takes. You want to keep playing hockey as long as possible this time of the year.” – Nico Sturm on playoff hockey
FIVE CATS STATS
- Fifteen different Panthers logged at least one point in Round 1.
- Sam Bennett leads Florida’s forwards with 21 hits in the playoffs.
- Carter Verhaeghe’s 28 career playoff goals are a franchise record.
- Seth Jones led the Panthers with 25:41 of ice time per tilt in Round 1.
- The Panthers owned a 3-1-0 record against Toronto in 2024-25.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 25: F Jesse Puljujarvi assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Monday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
TV & Streaming: ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Watch Party: Funky Buddha Brewery
