SUNRISE – The Maple Leafs have been on the entrance foot and had all of the momentum.
Having fallen behind 2-0 early and 3-1 simply three minutes into Friday’s second interval, the Florida Panthers teetering on the brink after struggling consecutive one-goal street losses to seek out themselves in a deep playoff gap.
Nicely-drilled at locking down opponents all season with a grinding model beneath head coach Craig Berube, Toronto appeared nicely on its strategy to a 3-0 stranglehold on this matchup of Atlantic Division titans.
The defending Stanley Cup champions pushed again — and refused to go away.
Brad Marchand scored the winner at 15:17 of extra time Friday on a deflected shot because the Panthers twice battled again from two-goal deficits to choose up a 5-4 victory and claw their manner again into the groups’ knife-edged second-round sequence.
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The Leafs finally responded and tied issues halfway by the third when defenceman Morgan Rielly’s shot pinballed off Florida counterpart Seth Jones. Toronto then had a few nice possibilities within the additional interval earlier than Marchand gave his group life.
Regardless of steadying themselves to get again on stage phrases, the guests seemed again on the center interval with remorse — unable to match the Panthers’ desperation.
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“That lapse within the second and (permitting) them again within the recreation … simply hold our foot on the pedal as a lot as potential,” Toronto blueliner Jake McCabe mentioned of what his crew will likely be hoping to enhance because it pivots to Sunday’s Recreation 4 within the best-of-seven showdown.
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“They’re going to have their pushes, too, climate these and provides them our personal push like we did within the third. These video games are tight. It’s back-and-forth hockey.”
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The Leafs have been resilient all through the common schedule and have maintained that within the playoffs. When the Ottawa Senators took momentum within the first spherical, Toronto often had a solution.
The identical was true by the primary two video games of this sequence — 5-4 and 4-3 victories on residence ice. Toronto might want to draw on that have after Florida tightened the screws inside a rocking Amerant Financial institution Area.
“Taking part in our recreation for the entire 60 minutes,” Berube mentioned of his message transferring ahead. “We’ve received to be simply direct with what we have to do.”
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Rielly, who together with scoring had two Florida objectives go off him to beat Joseph Woll in Toronto’s web, together with Marchand’s winner, mentioned his group must match Florida’s resolve.
“We anticipated it to be aggressive,” he mentioned. “We anticipated them to be determined, they usually have been.”
Making his second straight begin instead of the injured Anthony Stolarz, Woll allowed 5 objectives on 36 photographs.
“We’ve preached all 12 months to play to our course of, and no matter how the sport goes, what the rating is, the place the momentum is at, and sticking to that,” he mentioned. “We’ve performed an excellent job of that over the course playoffs. That’s what we fall again on.”
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Leafs centre John Tavares mentioned his crew — within the second spherical for simply the second time within the NHL’s wage cap period — continues to be assured within the drivers’ seat.
“It’s a battle,” he mentioned after scoring twice in Recreation 3. “Excited concerning the alternative that we now have on Sunday. We’re proper there, so simply hold going. We all know we may be higher in plenty of areas.
“Probability to regroup and reset and get again at it.”
The champs will likely be ready.
SICK NOTE
Veteran goaltender Matt Murray, who suited because the backup in Recreation 2 with Stolarz out, was unable to decorate for Toronto resulting from an sickness. Denis Hildeby, a rookie with simply six video games of NHL expertise, was the crew’s No. 2 choice Friday.
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The 36-year-old Marchand’s winner was his fourth-career playoff OT purpose to place him one again of solely Patrick Kane, Corey Perry and teammate Carter Verhaeghe for probably the most amongst energetic gamers.
“In extra time, there’s not a nasty shot you may put on the web,” mentioned Marchand, a participant with a protracted historical past delivering Toronto post-season heartbreak from his time with the Boston Bruins. “Fortuitous bounce, however that’s what occurs while you put pucks there.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 9, 2025.
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