Apr 2, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A shot hits Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart (13) as Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) defends the goal during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
It’s Game 1 of the second-round matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
The two teams are going at it again, two years after their first series, which Toronto lost in five games. Since then, the Maple Leafs have brought in a new coach in Craig Berube, while the Panthers have added a Stanley Cup to their resume.
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Toronto eliminated the Ottawa Senators in six games. William Nylander led the way with nine points—three goals and six assists—in the series. New father Mitch Marner (one goal, seven assists) is one point behind Nylander for the team lead through six games.
Steven Lorentz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz, three former Panthers, face their former team in the postseason after winning the ultimate prize last June.
Florida eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Selke Trophy nominee Sam Reinhart led the team in points with two goals and four assists during the series. Sergei Bobrovsky had a .901 save percentage in the five games played.
Nylander scores the series-opening goal 33 seconds into the game. It’s his fourth goal in seven games, with assists going to Max Pacioretty and Jake McCabe. Bobrovsky couldn’t see anything with John Tavares and Seth Jones battling in front.
Toronto’s second line continued with another chance a few minutes later. Nylander finds Tavares in the slot, and his shot is stopped by Bobrovsky before going out of play.
The Maple Leafs’ third line gets involved after a few chances from the second line. Max Domi deflected Chris Tanev’s point shot before it took another deflection as it travelled to the net. Bobrovsky made the difficult stop with his glove.
Domi takes a cross-checking penalty 6:38 into the first period after getting tied up with Brad Marchand following a whistle. Toronto’s coaching staff was surprised by the call. The Maple Leafs allowed one shot on Florida’s power play.
McCabe throws a massive hit on Dmitry Kulikov, heating the game even more than it already was.
Nylander scores his second goal of the game and fifth of the playoffs at 12:51 after Ekman-Larsson’s rebound bounced to him. It’s the defenseman’s first assist of the playoffs. Nylander shimmied left and right before going upstairs on Bobrovsky.
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The Maple Leafs have two goals on their first six shots of the game.
Toronto takes a too-many-men penalty midway through their power play. Jones gets the Panthers on the board with his second goal of the playoffs at 16:57 as his point shot beats Stolarz.
Nineteen seconds after Florida cut Toronto’s lead in half, Morgan Rielly found himself on a two-on-one with Tavares after a pass from Nylander. Rielly beats Bobrovsky over the blocker for his third postseason goal, putting the Maple Leafs up 3-1.
Nylander’s third point of the night ties him for the playoff lead with Mikko Rantanen and Kyle Connor.
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