Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save against Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on May 4.John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
The Maple Leafs blew a 2-0 lead and lost to the Panthers 3-2 on Thursday in Game 2 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series at Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto is now in a 0-2 hole with the next two games in the best-of-seven set for Sunday and Wednesday at FLA Live Arena in the western suburbs of Fort Lauderdale.
The Panthers scored twice in the first 66 seconds of the second period to erase a 2-1 disadvantage. First, Aleksander Barkov beat Ilya Samsonov 19 seconds in, then that was followed by a goal by Gustav Forsling.
“This one was disappointing because we were rolling early in the game,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We made mistakes that we didn’t make one time in the last series.”
Toronto winger Matt Knies looked woozy after he was wrestled to the ice in the first period by Sam Bennett and did not return after that.
Keefe said he had no update on Knies’s status but said: “it’s not positive.” Later, Bennett was penalized for cross-checking Michael Bunting and it would not be a surprise if the play by the tough Florida centre was reviewed by league safety officials.
Florida extended its winning streak to five post-season games. It won the final three games in the first round to eliminate Boston, the NHL’s best team during the regular season, and defeated Toronto 4-2 in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Cathal Kelly: Maple Leafs-related anxiety never went away – it was just delayed a while
Toronto had the ice tilted toward its own end for chunks of the action but had the second-best goalie. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 34 of 36 shots in the Panthers’ crease, same as he did on Tuesday.
Samsonov had a so-so night. He made 26 saves but gave up two goals on the first three shots to start the second.
A year ago, the Panthers finished with the league’s best record during the regular season but fell to the rival Lightning in the second round.
In comparison, the 2022-23 regular campaign was more of a slog. At one stretch Florida was nine points out of the second wild card position. It ended up clinching it by just one point.
“Last year was so easy for so long,” Sam Reinhart, the Panthers centre, said earlier in the day. He had an assist on a goal in the first period by Anton Lundell. “This year was really trying for so long – and we grew a lot from that.
“The pressure isn’t really there for us. We are just showing up and playing and we are loving it. Whatever happens we shake it off and come back to ground level where we should be and refocus.”
Florida trailed Boston 3-2 in Game 7 but scored with 59 seconds remaining to force overtime and then continued its improbable run to the second round.
“We are keeping the same mentality,” Anthony Duclair, the Panthers’ left wing, said before the morning skate. “We have a Game 7 mentality. The desperation we played with in the last three games against Boston has carried over. We are confident for sure, but at the same time we know there are things we can get better at.”
Bobrovsky replaced Alex Lyon in the Panthers’ net during a loss to the Bruins in Game 4 and has won five pressure-filled starts since then. He turned away nine Toronto shots in the last 2 minutes 30 seconds on Tuesday and was inundated again in Game 2.
“When we got to the decision of who would play the next game, we were down 3-1 and Sergei has proven in his career that he can handle that pressure,” said Paul Maurice, the Florida coach. “But he also needs it. He needs to go into that net for our team and for our franchise and be the deciding factor.
“And since then he has been fantastic.”
Opinion: The NHL stiffed Canada with extended break in Maple Leafs, Panthers series before Game 3
Alexander Kerfoot gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead a little more than two minutes in, his first goal since his overtime winner against Tampa Bay in Game 4 of the first round. Bobrovsky mishandled a shot by Luke Schenn and Kerfoot pounced on it and flipped it into the back of the net.
Ryan O’Reilly, with dried blood on one side of his face and a gap between his front teeth, increased the lead to 2-0 on a power play with 15:50 left in the first. It was the fourth goal of the post-season for O’Reilly, who found the net from near the right faceoff dot after a silky pass from Mitch Marner.
The Panthers crept back with 8:47 remaining in the period when Anton Lundell hammered in a pass from Reinhart from behind the net.
Despite a 16-9 lead in shots after 20 minutes, the Maple Leafs only held a 2-1 lead. Samsonov made a diving pad save on Aaron Ekblad and thwarted a dangerous try by Matthew Tkachuk.
The Panthers came in 0-3 in post-season when their scores first but corrected that against the Maple Leafs. Toronto posted a 3-0-1 record against Florida during the 2022-23 regular season, but three games were decided in overtime.
For all of the theorists out there who believe referees conspire against the Maple Leafs, consider this: Toronto has had seven power plays to Florida’s two.
On Thursday they hit posts and crossbars and ran Bobrovsky ragged but still came up short.
“For stretches we played exactly like we wanted to play,” Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers’ left wing, said.