5/5/2025
(Toronto, ON)
William Nylander got the party started early with two goals and an assist in the first period, paving the way for the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers. Toronto lost goaltender Anthony Stolarz from a hit from Florida’s Sam Bennett. The Panthers await for word from the NHL on if Bennett will face discipline for the elbow on Stolarz.
William Nylander scored a pair of first period goals, before Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, and Matthew Knies scored for the Leafs. Florida scored goals from Seth Jones, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis, and Sam Bennett.
The Panthers came into game 1 off a five game first round series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida limited the NHL’s leading scorer in Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov to merely one assist in the series. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated their provincial rival Ottawa Senators in a tightly played six games.
This was not the first time the Maple Leafs and Panthers met in the playoffs. Back in 2022, the Panthers and Leafs met in the second round, a series won by Florida in five games. The Panthers advanced in the end to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to Vegas. The Panthers the following year won the Stanley Cup while, the Maple Leafs fell in the first round to the Boston Bruins in seven games last season. The Maple Leafs hold the dubious distinction of winning only two playoff series since 2004. Toronto also last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, 57 years ago. The Panthers on the other hand have quickly crafted a legacy of winning with two Stanley Cup appearances the last two years.
The Maple Leafs set the tone early when William Nylander retrieved a drop pass from Max Pacioretty and rifled a shot through traffic to put Toronto in front 1-0. Nylander was at it again at 12:51 of the first. The Toronto forward buried a loose rebound by Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Leafs up 2-0. The Panthers answered late in the first period at 16:57 when Seth Jones scored on the power play. Jones’s goal on the man advantage came after a Toronto “too many men” penalty. The lead did not last long. Morgan Reilly and John Tavares teamed up for a two on one. Reilly’s snapped a shot by Bobrovsky to restore a two goal lead at 17:16. Nylander tacked off an incredible first period with adding a tertiary assist on the goal. Toronto led 3-1 after one period.
At 7:16 of the middle frame, Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz took an elbow from former Panther teammate Sam Bennett. Moment later, off an offensive draw for the Leafs, Chris Tanev scored at 7:50 to give the Leafs a 4-1 lead. During the next media timeout, Stolarz was removed for medical evaluation for a possible head injury, on a stretcher for evaluation at a local hospital. Joseph Woll stepped in place for Stolarz for Toronto. The Leafs led after 40 minutes 4-1.
In the third period, the Leafs saw their lead shrink. 1:40 into the period, Eetu Luostarinen tipped a pass from Anton Lundell to cut the deficit to two. At 4:30, Uvis Balinskis flinged a shot by Joseph Woll and the Cats were back in the game. Toronto stretched their lead with a breakaway goal at 14:00 of the third. The Leafs once again restored their two goal cushion. Sam Bennett scored at 18:07 to again put the Panthers in striking range. In the end, the Leafs came away with a 5-4 win thanks to two goals and an assist from William Nylander.
In the end, Nylander said of the win, “We just focus on the next game now”. That next game [Game 2] is Wednesday with a start time of 4 p.m. pst. The broadcast can be found on CBC and ESPN.
Stay tuned to ESN for more updates on the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
www.elisportsnetwork.com
