Another lackluster performance has the Florida Panthers in a pickle after they lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena.
Florida got off to much better start in this one, and after serving a tripping minor, Brad Marchand quickly drew one on Bobby McMann, which the Panthers took advantage of to grab the lead a mere five seconds later.
Aleksander Barkov won the ensuing offensive faceoff back to Seth Jones, who returned to the captain in the left circle. Barkov fired the puck through the legs of Chris Tanev and underneath Joseph Woll’s glove at the 10:58 mark to give the Cats their first lead of the series.
Unfortunately, the Panthers couldn’t get to the dressing room ahead. Dmitry Kulikov would shoot the puck into the crowd while in his own end, putting Toronto on the power play for the third time in the opening frame, and three would indeed be a magic number for the Buds.
Max Pacioretty and Max Domi would combine to work the puck up the right boards to Morgan Rielly at the point. Rielly let fly and Pacioretty was able to deflect the defenseman’s offering into the top of the net to even the tilt with 1:41 left in the period.
The Cats would respond early in the second to regain the lead. Marchand harried Rielly into a turnover and Eetu Luostarinen passed to Anton Lundell in the lower left circle. Lundell left the puck for Marchand, who cut across the slot and lifted a backhand over Woll’s glove fifteen seconds in. It was Marchand’s first postseason goal as a Panther.
Florida’s second lead of the game would not last long. Matthew Tkachuk tried to feed the puck high into the zone, but his pass was broken up by Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Jones was unable to turn the play around at center ice and Pacioretty took possession and sped down the right side before crossing to William Nylander. Nylander took the puck off his skate and swept it by Bobrovsky, tying the score just 4:03 after Marchand’s goal.
A similar situation would put the Cats behind with 2:19 left in the period. Once again, it was Tkachuk trying to force a play that wasn’t really there that let the Maple Leafs exit their zone. McMann sent a pass into the middle of the neutral zone for Steven Lorentz, who avoided Nate Schmidt and got the puck over to Rielly. The failed step-up by Schmidt allowed Toronto to cross the blue line 3-on-2 and Rielly centered to Lorentz, who backhanded the puck behind Sam Bennett to Domi, who buried it.
The third line would come through for Florida again, knotting things up 5:33 into the third. After Luostarinen sent the puck into the slot looking for Lundell, the puck came to Aaron Ekblad along the right boards and he whipped it back in front, where it struck Lundell’s skate. Lundell was able to gather and guide the puck home for his third goal of the playoffs.
As they did in the first period of Game 1, Toronto would answer a Florida goal on the very next shift. Auston Matthews passed back to Jake McCabe, who dumped the puck from the left point into the right corner, and it caromed out to an open Mitch Marner along the half boards. Marner sent a shot knuckling towards the net that clanked off the far post and in, stunning Bobrovsky and the Panthers, and giving the Maple Leafs the eventual game-winner seventeen seconds after Lundell tied it.
The Panthers had some good chances to equalize, but Woll came up with a monster skate save on Mackie Samoskevich after Florida’s best passing play of the night midway through the period. I remember Carter Verhaeghe having Woll dead to rights and just missing top shelf as time wound down.
Full marks to Toronto, who looked fast and played physical, but the Panthers remained their own worst enemy. The delay-of-game penalty on Kulikov cost them. Both Jones and Schmidt didn’t come up with the necessary plays at center ice to snuff out the counters that led to the Maple Leafs second and third goals. And Marner’s goal… lucky. The Cats simply aren’t executing well enough over the course of the game. The passes aren’t crisp, the handles aren’t clean, and their puck management has been dicey at best. Another subpar game from Bobrovsky didn’t help matters either. They need to find a way to win on Friday or the outlook will only get grimmer.
Rakes & Bags
- Maxs Pacioretty and Domi helped carry the Maple Leafs to victory with each registering a goal and an assist. This marks the first time since 1963 that Toronto has had a 2-0 lead in two best-of-7 series during the same postseason.
- The Panthers out-chanced the Maple Leafs 31-11 at 5-on-5, but they are getting too many shots blocked (25), which is keeping them from getting extended zone time and helping feed Toronto’s dangerous counter attack.
- Anton Lundell (1G/1A) and Eetu Luostarinen (2A) now lead the Panthers in postseason scoring after their multipoint performances in Game 2. All of Lundell’s points have come during his four-game point streak.
- With Anthony Stolarz out, Joseph Woll got his first start of the playoffs and made 25 saves to post his second win of the series. Sergei Bobrovsky was off again, finishing with 16 saves on 20 shots.
- Aaron Ekblad had an assist and logged 19:59 of ice time in his first game back after being suspended for two games for elbowing Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel. Ekblad was credited with three shots and two blocks.
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