Three minutes later, Brandon Montour made it 4-2 with a heavy slap shot at 13:42.
A truly dominant 20 minutes, the Panthers outshot the Maple Leafs 29-4 in the period.
When they play like that, you'd be hard-pressed to find any team that can keep up.
“The second period was the first time in a while we sort of looked the way we’re supposed to look,” Maurice said. “You could feel it. It’s more than just the way we looked. You could feel it with the energy level on the bench. It’s a good way to go into the playoffs. It’s not the win, it’s the style of hockey you want to play. It’s, ‘OK, it’s there.’ Just a little reassurance.”
Shutting the door on Toronto in the third period, Stolarz turned aside all eight shots he saw and got some help from his teammates with some key blocks and overall strong play in the defensive zone.
A huge piece of the puzzle for the Panthers this season, Stolarz, who’d been dying to play for a contender his entire career, finished the regular season with a 16-7-2 record while also ranking first in the NHL in both goals-against average (2.03) and save percentage (.925) among qualified goaltenders.
“It was probably the most important game I’ve had to play in my NHL career, but I just went out there [like it was] business as usual,” said Stolarz, who's been a perfect complement to starter Sergei Bobrovsky. “Still trying to be loose around the room before the game. Everyone played super hard. Guys were blocking shots.”
With the final score of the Bruins game already known (a stunning 3-1 win for the Senators), Reinhart let fans in the arena know they could officially start celebrating another division championship when he scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-2 at 17:40 and end his stellar season with 57 goals.
But just as one journey ends another begins.
Now, a date with the Lightning awaits.
For a team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, only the ultimate prize will quench their thirst.
"It's always fireworks when we play these guys,” Verhaeghe said. “It's always a good game. They're an awesome team and really skilled, physical. They have all the elements of a really good team. It's going to be two good teams going at it."
THEY SAID IT
“Hopefully this is just a way for us to show that we feel we’re one of those teams now. There’s just no better way for us to start this journey than to play Tampa first. I think it’s a perfect opportunity for us.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“You work all year and want to finish as high as possible and get that home-ice. You can obviously see the difference in that second period.” – Anthony Stolarz
“We battled all year and had a great season. Now we’re looking forward to the postseason. It feels weird being done, but the postseason is a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to it.” – Carter Verhaeghe
“Both teams know how to play hard. Both teams have some high-end skill. It’ll be a great battle. It’ll be great for the fans, right? The energy. I haven’t experienced this yet. I’m new to [the Battle of Florida], so I’m looking forward to it.” – Paul Maurice
CATS STATS
- The Panthers have won the Atlantic Division in two of the last three seasons.
- The Panthers will face the Lightning in the playoffs for the third time in history.
- Aleksander Barkov has recorded at least one point in 10 of his last 11 games.
- Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Bennett each recorded six hits.
- Anton Lundell went 12-for-15 in the faceoff circle (80%).
- Matthew Tkachuk notched the 30th multi-point period since joining the Panthers.
- Anthony Stolarz made seven high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
- Sam Reinhart’s 57 goals are the second most in the NHL this season.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Alligator Alley is about to get backed up.
Still waiting for an exact start date, the Panthers and Lightning will likely kick off their first-round series at Amerant Bank Arena in the very near future, so stay tuned for details.
In the meantime, click HERE to browse tickets.
