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The Florida Panthers stumbled out of the gate in Toronto on May 5 and now find themselves trailing their second-round series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
William Nylander scored twice in the first 12:51 to lead the Maple Leafs to a 5-4 Game 1 victory.
The Panthers scored two goals in the first 4:30 of the third period to draw back within a goal, but Matthew Knies restored Toronto’s two-goal lead with a breakaway goal with six minutes to go to put the game away.
“It was a sloppy start,” Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen said. “We were a little bit slow there, but we got better as the game went on. Everybody has faith in what we’re doing, and we got close, but obviously we can’t give up that much.”
Nylander opened the scoring 33 seconds into the game, beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a wide-angle shot through traffic. He got on the board again after jumping on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson rebound and beating Bobrovsky high blocker side with 7:09 to go in the first period.
More: Florida Panthers take on Toronto Maple Leafs in second round of Stanley Cup playoffs
Seth Jones got the Panthers on the board with a quick snap shot from the point on the power play with 3:03 to go in the first period. Morgan Reilly restored Toronto’s three-goal lead with a quick shot on a 2-on-1 rush 19 seconds later. Chris Tanev extended that lead to 4-1 with a point shot 7:50 into the second period.
Joseph Woll came into the game for starting goalie Anthony Stolarz after he took a hit to the head from Sam Bennett with 12:40 to go in the second period. Stolarz stayed in the arena for about three minutes after the hit, then was removed from the game after he threw up on the bench with 9:46 to go in the second period.
“Elbow to the head, clear as day,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said of the hit, which was not called a penalty on the ice. “I get it. They miss calls, but that’s clearly a penalty.”
The Panthers came out firing on Toronto’s back-up goalie to start the third. Eetu Luostarinen deflected a feed from Anton Lundell past Woll 1:39 into the third to make it 4-2. Uvis Balinskis cut the lead to one goal 4:30 into the frame with a wrist shot from the point.
But Knies caught the Panthers on an odd-man rush with six minutes to go and beat Bobrovsky to make it 5-2.
Bennett was able to make it a one-goal game when the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for the extra attacker, but they could not find an equalizer in the final minutes.
Here are three takeaways from the Panthers’ Game 1 loss to the Maple Leafs:
The Panthers were sloppy coming out of the gate. They were sluggish, they were not as heavy on the forecheck and they turned the puck over multiple times with sloppy puck movement to start the game. Florida was outshot 12-4 and could not generate much of anything in the first 10 minutes.
Toronto jumped on the opportunities, created multiple scoring chances off the turnovers and jumped to an early three-goal lead. Even with the comeback effort, it ended up being too steep of a hole to dig out of.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a great start,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We knew they were going to come hard and strong. We got a little better as the game went on in the second and third period, but we will learn from this game. It obviously wasn’t the result we wanted, but we learn and move on.”
After holding the vaunted Tampa Bay Lightning to just two goals on 18 power plays, Florida’s penalty kill went right back to work against the Maple Leafs. The Panthers went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill while holding Toronto to six shots on the man advantage.
Florida’s kills ended up being big momentum shifters as the Panthers made their march from down three goals, but their lack of discipline cost them as well. The Panthers took two penalties within five minutes of cutting Toronto’s deficit to one goal and it slowed down their offensive attack and opened up the opportunity for Knies to score.
Florida’s start was reminiscent of its start in Game 1 against Boston in the second round of the playoffs last season. The Panthers were coming off a week-long layover and looked sluggish and sloppy en route to a 5-1 loss. They ended up finding their groove in Game 2 and went on to a five-game series victory.
Ihe Panthers did not wait until Game 2 to get back to their game. They outshot Toronto 25-17 from the second period onward, got back to their physical, forechecking style and cleaned things up defensively as they made their comeback effort. They might not have completed the rally and gotten the victory, but they got their game to a good spot as they look to even the series up in Game 2 on May 7.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers start slow, lose to Toronto Maple Leafs in Stanley Cup playoffs
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William Nylander scored twice in the first 12:51 to lead the Maple Leafs to a 5-4 Game 1 victory.
The Panthers scored two goals in the first 4:30 of the third period to draw back within a goal, but Matthew Knies restored Toronto’s two-goal lead with a breakaway goal with six minutes to go to put the game away.
“It was a sloppy start,” Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen said. “We were a little bit slow there, but we got better as the game went on. Everybody has faith in what we’re doing, and we got close, but obviously we can’t give up that much.”
Nylander opened the scoring 33 seconds into the game, beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a wide-angle shot through traffic. He got on the board again after jumping on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson rebound and beating Bobrovsky high blocker side with 7:09 to go in the first period.
More: Florida Panthers take on Toronto Maple Leafs in second round of Stanley Cup playoffs
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Seth Jones got the Panthers on the board with a quick snap shot from the point on the power play with 3:03 to go in the first period. Morgan Reilly restored Toronto’s three-goal lead with a quick shot on a 2-on-1 rush 19 seconds later. Chris Tanev extended that lead to 4-1 with a point shot 7:50 into the second period.
Joseph Woll came into the game for starting goalie Anthony Stolarz after he took a hit to the head from Sam Bennett with 12:40 to go in the second period. Stolarz stayed in the arena for about three minutes after the hit, then was removed from the game after he threw up on the bench with 9:46 to go in the second period.
“Elbow to the head, clear as day,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said of the hit, which was not called a penalty on the ice. “I get it. They miss calls, but that’s clearly a penalty.”
The Panthers came out firing on Toronto’s back-up goalie to start the third. Eetu Luostarinen deflected a feed from Anton Lundell past Woll 1:39 into the third to make it 4-2. Uvis Balinskis cut the lead to one goal 4:30 into the frame with a wrist shot from the point.
But Knies caught the Panthers on an odd-man rush with six minutes to go and beat Bobrovsky to make it 5-2.
Bennett was able to make it a one-goal game when the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for the extra attacker, but they could not find an equalizer in the final minutes.
Here are three takeaways from the Panthers’ Game 1 loss to the Maple Leafs:
Panthers' shaky start to first period ultimately cost them
The Panthers were sloppy coming out of the gate. They were sluggish, they were not as heavy on the forecheck and they turned the puck over multiple times with sloppy puck movement to start the game. Florida was outshot 12-4 and could not generate much of anything in the first 10 minutes.
Toronto jumped on the opportunities, created multiple scoring chances off the turnovers and jumped to an early three-goal lead. Even with the comeback effort, it ended up being too steep of a hole to dig out of.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a great start,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We knew they were going to come hard and strong. We got a little better as the game went on in the second and third period, but we will learn from this game. It obviously wasn’t the result we wanted, but we learn and move on.”
Florida’s penalty kill still on the money, but more discipline needed
After holding the vaunted Tampa Bay Lightning to just two goals on 18 power plays, Florida’s penalty kill went right back to work against the Maple Leafs. The Panthers went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill while holding Toronto to six shots on the man advantage.
Florida’s kills ended up being big momentum shifters as the Panthers made their march from down three goals, but their lack of discipline cost them as well. The Panthers took two penalties within five minutes of cutting Toronto’s deficit to one goal and it slowed down their offensive attack and opened up the opportunity for Knies to score.
Panthers have recovered from a shaky Game 1 before
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Florida’s start was reminiscent of its start in Game 1 against Boston in the second round of the playoffs last season. The Panthers were coming off a week-long layover and looked sluggish and sloppy en route to a 5-1 loss. They ended up finding their groove in Game 2 and went on to a five-game series victory.
Ihe Panthers did not wait until Game 2 to get back to their game. They outshot Toronto 25-17 from the second period onward, got back to their physical, forechecking style and cleaned things up defensively as they made their comeback effort. They might not have completed the rally and gotten the victory, but they got their game to a good spot as they look to even the series up in Game 2 on May 7.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers start slow, lose to Toronto Maple Leafs in Stanley Cup playoffs
Continue reading...
