SUNRISE – The Maple Leafs had been on the entrance foot and had all of the momentum.
Having fallen behind 2-0 early and 3-1 simply three minutes into Friday’s second interval, the Florida Panthers teetering on the brink after struggling consecutive one-goal street losses to search out themselves in a deep playoff gap.
Nicely-drilled at locking down opponents all season with a grinding type underneath head coach Craig Berube, Toronto appeared properly on its strategy to a 3-0 stranglehold on this matchup of Atlantic Division titans.
The defending Stanley Cup champions pushed again — and refused to go away.
Brad Marchand scored the winner at 15:17 of extra time Friday on a deflected shot because the Panthers twice battled again from two-goal deficits to select up a 5-4 victory and claw their means again into the groups’ knife-edged second-round sequence.
The Leafs finally responded and tied issues halfway by way of the third when defenceman Morgan Rielly’s shot pinballed off Florida counterpart Seth Jones. Toronto then had a few nice probabilities within the additional interval earlier than Marchand gave his group life.
Regardless of steadying themselves to get again on stage phrases, the guests appeared again on the center interval with remorse — unable to match the Panthers’ desperation.
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“That lapse within the second and (permitting) them again within the sport … simply preserve our foot on the pedal as a lot as potential,” Toronto blueliner Jake McCabe stated of what his crew might be hoping to enhance because it pivots to Sunday’s Recreation 4 within the best-of-seven showdown.
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“They’re going to have their pushes, too, climate these and provides them our personal push like we did within the third. These video games are tight. It’s back-and-forth hockey.”
The Leafs had been resilient all through the common schedule and have maintained that within the playoffs. When the Ottawa Senators took momentum within the first spherical, Toronto often had a solution.
The identical was true by way of the primary two video games of this sequence — 5-4 and 4-3 victories on dwelling ice. Toronto might want to draw on that have after Florida tightened the screws inside a rocking Amerant Financial institution Area.
“Enjoying our sport for the entire 60 minutes,” Berube stated of his message shifting ahead. “We’ve bought to be simply direct with what we have to do.”
Rielly, who together with scoring had two Florida targets go off him to beat Joseph Woll in Toronto’s web, together with Marchand’s winner, stated his group should match Florida’s resolve.
“We anticipated it to be aggressive,” he stated. “We anticipated them to be determined, they usually had been.”
Making his second straight begin rather than the injured Anthony Stolarz, Woll allowed 5 targets on 36 pictures.
“We’ve preached all 12 months to play to our course of, and no matter how the sport goes, what the rating is, the place the momentum is at, and sticking to that,” he stated. “We’ve achieved a very good job of that over the course playoffs. That’s what we fall again on.”
Leafs centre John Tavares stated his crew — within the second spherical for simply the second time within the NHL’s wage cap period — remains to be assured within the drivers’ seat.
“It’s a battle,” he stated after scoring twice in Recreation 3. “Excited in regards to the alternative that we now have on Sunday. We’re proper there, so simply preserve going. We all know we might be higher in numerous areas.
“Likelihood to regroup and reset and get again at it.”
The champs might be ready.
SICK NOTE
Veteran goaltender Matt Murray, who suited because the backup in Recreation 2 with Stolarz out, was unable to decorate for Toronto as a result of an sickness. Denis Hildeby, a rookie with simply six video games of NHL expertise, was the crew’s No. 2 choice Friday.
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The 36-year-old Marchand’s winner was his fourth-career playoff OT aim to place him one again of solely Patrick Kane, Corey Perry and teammate Carter Verhaeghe for essentially the most amongst energetic gamers.
“In extra time, there’s not a nasty shot you possibly can put on the web,” stated Marchand, a participant with an extended historical past delivering Toronto post-season heartbreak from his time with the Boston Bruins. “Fortuitous bounce, however that’s what occurs once you put pucks there.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Could 9, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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