The Florida Panthers have defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 5 of the second round in the Eastern Conference. They have taken a 3-2 series lead and will head back to Amerant Bank Arena and look to close out the series.
Maple Leafs fans were frustrated with the team, especially at the end of the second period where they boo’d the team off the ice as they trailed 4-0. For the Panthers, three goals from defensemen were great, as was the six total goals, but it was still Sergei Bobrovsky, yet again, who stole the show.
While Woll allowed five goals on 26 shots and was eventually replaced by Matt Murray, this game doesn’t fall on him. The Maple Leafs continue to struggle to score, and there was a combination of unlucky bounces and defensive collapses.
Game Recap
During the first period, the Maple Leafs were able to generate chances, including multiple breakaways and high-danger shots, but they were unable to maintain possession and generate pressure on the Panthers. It was well into the back half of the period before the Maple Leafs got their first offensive-zone faceoff.
While both teams had their looks, it was Aaron Ekblad who scored the only goal of the period. On a well-placed shot through traffic, Ekblad beat Woll over the right shoulder and gave the Panthers the lead. Both teams had a strong period, but it was all downhill for the Leafs after that.
For the second period, Dmitri Kulikov opened the scoring in the frame with a shot from the point that deflected off Scott Laughton’s stick, doubling the Panthers’ lead. Just four minutes later, Boqvist scored his first of the playoffs in his return to the lineup after sitting since Game 2 of the series.
Just seconds after the 3-0 goal from Boqvist, Max Domi was looking to get some energy back into the Leafs lineup, but took things too far when challenging Matthew Tkachuk to a fight, and took a slashing penalty. While the Panthers didn’t score on that opportunity, it continued their great stretch of momentum, and Nikko Mikkola gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead with a bit of time left in the second period.
The Maple Leafs were boo’d off the ice heading into the second intermission, and lost the support of their fans for the night.
Once the third period kicked off, there were a lot more empty seats than there were before. Some fans opted to beat the traffic and left early.
Six minutes into the final frame, A.J. Greer gave the Panthers a 5-0 lead, and that was the end of Woll’s night. Murray entered the game and made his first playoff appearance since 2020 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sam Bennett extended the lead to 6-0 on the power play after John Tavares took a roughing penalty.
Nick Robertson scored to get the Leafs on the board with 66 seconds remaining, but it was far too little and too late for it to have and impact.
The star of the show was Bobrovsky, who had a shutout streak of nearly 130 minutes before having it snapped with 66 seconds to go, and had completely shut the door on the Maple Leafs. For Toronto’s goaltending, as mentioned above, the loss isn’t on Woll’s shoulders, but Anthony Stolarz has been practicing and could make a return to the lineup by the end of the series if things continue progressing positively.
Temperatures were relatively timid considering the blowout score, but with just under seven minutes to go, there was a lengthy scrum which resulted in a Maple Leafs power play, a number of off-setting roughing penalties, and a Brad Marchand game misconduct. None of these actions crossed a line, and there is likely not going to be any supplemental discipline.
There was more rough stuff going on after the Maple Leafs’ goal, and as the final horn went off, but nothing significant.
Game 6 is set to take place on May 16 and will be in Florida as the Maple Leafs look to extend their playoff hopes at least one more game, and force a Game 7
