The Florida Panthers overcame a two-goal deficit as our NHL best bet of the day and secured a 3-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.
This marks the second win for the Panthers in Round 2 against the Maple Leafs, which now face a challenging road ahead.
Florida began the game poorly, conceding two goals in the first period by the 5:10 mark. The Maple Leafs were the opposite, dominating the first period after their 4-2 loss in Game 1.
Early in the first period, Alex Kerfoot scored the game’s first goal, putting pressure on Florida. Shortly after, Ryan O’Reilly added another goal on a power play, which was the first for Toronto since Game 4 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
However, for some reason, Toronto couldn’t keep their momentum, and Florida’s Anton Lundell managed to reduce the deficit between the two teams at 11:13 in the first period.
Toronto did not stay in the lead for too long. Aleksander Barkov scored a goal just 45 seconds into the second period after William Nylander slipped up. Then, Gustav Forsling scored another goal only 47 seconds apart after Auston Matthews missed the puck. In just two minutes into the second period, the Panthers stole the lead at 3-2.
For the remainder of the game, Toronto had its chances to catch up, but they struggled to close the one-goal gap. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves, including all 12 shots in the third period, to secure the win. As for the Maple Leafs, goalie Ilya Samsonov only made 26 saves.
Relief amid fatigue
Even though Florida had a disappointing first period, captain Aleksander Barkov said they couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“We have some things to work on, we have to get better and it’s a good start for us, but we go home now and work even harder, that’s our plan,” said Barkov.
He also said that he and his team “believe in each other and our system.” Bobrovsky’s impressive performance — who faced 73 shots but allowed only four goals for a save percentage of .945. in the first two games against the Maple Leafs — demonstrated what the captain meant by trusting each other.
Panthers Coach Paul Maurice admitted that he was worried, as his team was starting to feel emotional fatigue after playing five games in nine nights, traveling from one place to another. However, he was impressed by the unexpected “perfect” rally in Game 2.
“We didn’t think we had much in our legs [Friday], so it was just about character and fighting through it and battling the hard things that happened,” said Maurice.
With a five-game winning streak and a 2-0 series lead, the Panthers will return home with significant momentum as they aim for their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1996.
They will have two days of rest before the third game, which will take place on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Disappointing performance
Toronto, meanwhile, needs to focus on bouncing back from their biggest deficit in the postseason.
“Disappointing. Baffling,” said Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe regarding the loss. He believed his team did not make such a mistake in the first round.
Keefe thought Samsonov’s performance was “fine,” but he needs to improve in Game 3. Compared to Bobrovsky, Samsonov has allowed seven goals on 57 shots.
When asked about his performance compared to Bobrovsky, Samsonov said, “It doesn’t matter” to him that he is way behind. He said they are both doing their work and he “doesn’t give a f***.”
Samsonov’s save percentage is .894 over his seven playoff starts, ranking him as the third-lowest in the NHL postseason.