The Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime to win their series 4-1.
Florida will open up in Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Below watch the series winning goal, handshakes and highlights.
Ruled no goal on the ice and the situation room confirms it.
from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,
We’re not sure which was more impressive, the kid’s ability to lock down a 2-1 win facing elimination, or his composure in doing so.
“I’ve had a good mindset of what I want to pursue in my life, what’s important to me. And when I have that, when I have my groundwork, it’s easy to see everything that happens in life brings you closer to that. I’m just happy to be where I am,” Woll says.
“My mindset doesn't change regardless of what the situation is in the game, and that's the little game within the game I play in my mind.”
Ilya Samsonov skated Friday morning. That’s a first since leaving Sunday’s Game 3 with an upper-body injury.
The net — and all its pressures — belongs to Woll, who until Wednesday had not started a playoff game since March 23, 2019, for the Boston College Eagles.
“Confident but calm in there at all times,” Ryan O’Reilly observes. “It’s so impressive. To come in for that pressure of a game and doing what he did, only gives up one, that’s an amazing thing.”
Adds John Tavares: “You can just see the focus. His preparation, his focus, is elite.”
In attempt to shake the rookie, the Panthers vow to get more shots and more traffic Friday in Game 5.
“He was good,” Aleksander Barkov conceded. “Obviously, we could’ve had more guys at the net to make his job tougher.”
from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,
With the Toronto Maple Leafs skating on a cliff’s edge and previously loyal supporters jumping off the bandwagon like lemmings following the club’s uninspired Game 3 loss, William Nylander made a curious prediction ahead of a do-or-die Game 4.
“I think it will be fun tomorrow,” Nylander smiled Tuesday, after what was in danger of being the final practice for some in the organization.
Fun? Fighting to keep this wobbly ship afloat? Why fun?
“Because that’s when you have to play your best,” Nylander replied.
Willy certainly has his own style, even when he’s calling his shot.
But the best Maple Leafs forward in this series backed up his words, backchecking like a beast, skating with purpose, and cracking open a knotty 0-0 contest by pouncing on a fortunate bounce off an official’s leg and beating Sergei Bobrovsky.
Highlight are below.
from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star,
Of course the Maple Leafs can win a game. There shouldn’t be a question, even down 3-0, even if they’re baked and bleary-eyed from the Florida sun, even with the immediate future of the franchise as constructed an open question, now. Of course the Leafs can win a game.
There is a question, of course, how much it would matter. Only four NHL teams have ever come back from three games down to win a series. But after years of playoff failure, in a year which they finally escaped the first round, a sweep by a 92-point Florida Panthers team might fracture Toronto in fundamental ways.
They may, of course, break apart anyway. But for these Leafs, one game might be all they have left.
“I mean, I think obviously as leaders now we all want to step up, be there for the team, and and try to execute, go out there compete, and lead by example,” Auston Matthews said. “All that we can do is focus on how we approach this game, and the mental side of it.”
“You know, obviously we're the leaders, and we want to be the ones to step our foot forward and make sure we're doing that,” Mitch Marner said. “I think everyone on this team wants to do that as well.”
“I think it’ll be fun tomorrow,” William Nylander said. Why, he was asked? “Because I think that's when you’ve got to play your best.”
As a fan of the game, I have sympathy for Mr. Dangle.
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
... This series is all but over. Maybe there will be one more game. Maybe there will be two. But it’s clear three games into this series with Florida, with Leafs trailing 3-0, that this group, this leadership group, this team, this high-priced help can’t get it done when it matters most.
Can’t in any way live up to the salaries paid and the production expected.
This is now three games against Florida. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares — the supposed Core Four — remain the Scoreless Four in the series. The Leafs four leading goal scorers without a goal....
Now, it is waiting time. For the season to end and the series to end to see what comes from that. Season time, playoff time, then assessment time.
Does Brendan Shanahan, the big boss man of the Maple Leafs, survive another solid regular season, followed by another unimpressive playoff run?
Does Kyle Dubas get the contract he wanted last summer to remain as general manager? This looked to be the best roster he had ever put together. And still, it has come up so very short through three losses against Florida.
Does coach Sheldon Keefe survive? You never know what the politics are at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the Leafs’ owners, to fully understand what will come of Shanahan and Dubas. But if the Leafs are swept or even lose in an unimpressive five games, Keefe can’t return as coach.
from Dave Poulin at the Toronto Star,
In today’s NHL, the margins are razor thin. When you are down to eight teams competing for the ultimate prize, even more so. Much was made of the burden of first-round failures hindering the Leafs. It was expected that once the burden was lifted, more success would follow. But what if the pressure is even greater in the second round? Maybe it isn’t, but it would make sense — one step closer to the holy grail.
There is certainly time for the Leafs to reverse the script. Their best is that good, and individual excellence can change a narrative in a hurry. But they have been held to two goals in each of the last four games and Marner, while piling up some assists, hasn’t scored in six.
They need their core players to excel at what they do best. They may need Marner the most. He’s that important.
Leaf fans spending too much time on what nasty Sam Bennett did in Game 2. Time to concentrate on your own team. They made mistakes, Florida made them pay. They're getting beat by Panthers not the refs.
— Jim Matheson (@jimmathesonnhl) May 6, 2023
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
A season absolutely on the brink.
In just a few days, celebration has turned to angst, opportunity has all but disappeared, and all that felt right with the Leafs seems so very wrong today — and that’s without crediting the Panthers, who have deserved both wins in the series.
And all of that, by itself, is a slap in the face. A slap at Auston Matthews. A slap at Mitch Marner. A slap at captain John Tavares. A slap at coach Sheldon Keefe. A slap at a team that lost 50-50 battle after 50-50 battle Thursday night. And if you do that, the late Pat Burns would tell you over and over again, you will lose every game.
The Leafs have lost both games in this series.
In the third period, the enigmatic William Nylander did almost everything by himself to bring the Leafs back. But he didn’t get the bounce or two he needed. Sergei Bobrovsky was again sharp in the Florida net. And Nylander got next to no help from anybody he played with.
The Leafs led 2-0 early at home, the kind of start they needed against Florida. The kind of start they couldn’t uphold.
The three Florida goals came on Toronto giveaways — one of them a weak one on Ilya Samsonov, who seemed to be guessing Thursday night but making most of the saves he had to make to give the Leafs a chance. But it was shift after shift, losing battles all over the ice, losing faceoffs, losing on board play, losing behind the net.
from Nick Kypreos at the Toronto Star,
Tkachuk’s contributions were very apparent in Game 1 and the 25-year-old, who led the NHL playoffs in scoring heading into Wednesday’s games, was the driving force for the Panthers jumping to a 1-0 series lead.
When it comes to overall leadership — in the form of compete level, toughness and scoring on a nightly basis — not many in the NHL can touch this kid.
The Leafs and Kyle Dubas did their best to shore up team grit by bringing in Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn at the trade deadline but, for the most part, we are talking about depth guys. Meanwhile, the Panthers are showcasing a front-line colonel in Tkachuk.
He has a rare skill set that includes extremely soft hands and boulder-hard play in tight areas. We know this is the time of year where the ice shrinks, and so do the games of certain players. Not Tkachuk. He is thriving right now and it was evident on the opening goal of the series against the Leafs.
from Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail,
There are a lot of less-than-fun ways to express the east-west divide in this country. One useful way to do it is the Edmonton Oilers versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs are new money, and as such, totally self-absorbed. It’s not really their fault – it’s the city’s. The last time the Leafs were good, Toronto was Rochester with free hospitals. Now it wants to think it’s in the same league as Paris. Anything that isn’t happening here isn’t happening. Which is why everyone acts like hockey stops as soon as the Leafs head out on their annual May vacation.
But when things go right just once, Toronto switches shamelessly from pretend apathy to pretend confidence. Hence, switching locally from Worst Franchise in Sport™ to talking like Stanley Cup favourites within the space of 24 hours.
The Oilers carry themselves like old money. There are still people in that organization who were there the last time Edmonton ran hockey. Their modern failures are harder to laugh off. Especially after you’ve lucked into another generational player.
At their lowest, the Oilers give off the feel of bankrupt aristocrats: We used to consort with Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky and that whole crowd, and now this.
from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,
From wrestling a grizzly to racing a cheetah.
The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves dealing with a unique type of wild animal in Round 2. And the fresh challenge it brings will require quicker execution and an altered plan of attack.
So, while the Florida Panthers do share similarities with the now-vacationing Tampa Bay Lightning — no state tax, a famous and well-compensated Russian goaltender, a head coach gunning for the NHL lead in quotes-per-60 — they’re also a different kind of cat.
And the Panthers’ particular brand of hockey was on full display Tuesday in their blazing 4-2 road win over the Maple Leafs to draw first blood in Round 2.
“That will be the battle of this series, right? Both teams have something they’re really good at,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice, soaking up all the time and space at the winners’ podium that was nowhere to be found between whistles.
“You can expect a certain amount of forecheck and physicality from us. You’ll expect a certain amount of speed and skill from them, for sure. And then one team will feed the other.
“The team that brings the least amount of food to the game wins.”
The us-against-world Panthers stormed in hungry, unsatiated by feasting on the 65-win juggernaut Boston Bruins on their own turf less than 48 hours prior.
Game highlights are below.
Toronto has won their first playoff series since 2004.
Below watch the OT winner, handshakes and highlights.
The next 48 hours will be a Groundhog Day gong show medley in a fragile Toronto hockey market. The same old questions all over again.
-Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has more ($) on Leafs/Lightning.
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
All day long, no matter where you went around Toronto, no matter who you talked to, everything was about the Maple Leafs.
Everything was about the excitement of the day — downtown, in the suburbs, just about everywhere, and eventually the excitement of the night.
The city and Leaf Nation were all prepared for a victory. Ready for some new history to be written. Ready to turn the past into tomorrow. And then Game 5 of the best-of-seven series with the Tampa Bay Lightning began and it was: Here we go again for the Maple Leafs.
Another opportunity to advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs lost. Another opportunity moved from Game 5 to Game 6. Another night when all those talking all day — on edge, bottled up emotion, really — had every reason to believe they could, and should, expect more from their favourite hockey team.
But once again — this is now 10 attempts, zero wins — for the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner led Maple Leafs. This was another slap in the face for this regime, which is all about talent until the game and the series matter most.
There are a lot of new Leafs on this team, 10 changes from the club that lost to Tampa Bay a year ago, but the top of the lineup is the same.
The top was not good enough again. The bottom was not good enough again.
Game highlights are below.
Xfinity down in my area, so I am tethered to my phone this morning.
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
When Ryan O’Reilly positioned himself rather neatly on the right side of the Tampa Bay defenceman, directly in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy, in the final minute of regulation play on Saturday night, he didn’t do that by accident.
He did it by instinct.
Without time to think, with time running out, that’s what winners do.
This is very new for a Leafs team still trying to figure out how to win in the playoffs. They lost Game 1 badly to their own nerves and the lifelong moxie of the Tampa Bay Lightning. They won Game 2 almost as easily and convincingly as they lost Game 1. On Saturday, they got terrific play from goaltender Ilya Samsonov after a rather ordinary first period — and won Game 3.
NEW YORK (April 23, 2023) – Toronto Maple Leafs forward Sam Lafferty has been fined $3,108.11, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton during Game 3 of the teams’ First Round series in Tampa on Saturday, April 22, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 15:10 of the second period. Lafferty was assessed a minor penalty for roughing.
The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
watch below...
from Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times,
The Lightning needed a response from their Game 2 loss in Toronto when they returned to home ice Saturday night.
Their Game 3 effort would qualify as one, but it wasn’t enough to take control of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Maple Leafs.
In many ways, Tampa Bay outplayed Toronto at Amalie Arena. The Lightning had the Maple Leafs on the ropes for most of the nearly 60 minutes that followed an even opening period but couldn’t deliver a knockout blow.
After Tampa Bay allowed an extra-attacker tying goal to Maple Leafs forward Ryan O’Reilly with 60 seconds left in regulation, Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly’s wrister from above the left circle beat Andrei Vasilevskiy near side above his blocker with 45 seconds remaining in overtime, sending the Lightning to a heartbreaking 4-3 loss.
With the defeat, the Lightning trail in the series 2-1 going into Monday’s Game 4 at Amalie Arena. In last postseason’s first-round meeting between the teams, Tampa Bay faced the same deficit and rallied to win in seven games.
“(We) just continue to play with this same game plan,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “We were in the same position last year. So let’s just continue to plug away.
“Besides the results, I thought this was as good of a game as you can play and not win. So unfortunately, those don’t count much in the playoffs. Wins matter. So we’ll have to regroup, and I’ve got faith that we will.”
continued
Game highlights are below.
from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,
Some of our takeaways from the Leafs’ win on Thursday, tying the best-of-seven series 1-1:
STARS SHINE
Start with Mitch Marner drawing a tripping penalty on Lightning defenceman Ian Cole at 40 seconds and scoring on the power play seven seconds later.
Follow with captain John Tavares scoring at five-on-five, a goal that came before a laser to the top corner by William Nylander gave Toronto a 3-0 lead.
Morgan Rielly had the primary assist on all three goals. Auston Matthews assisted on two of them.
If you’re going to climb back from going down 1-0 in a series, the men who take up the most room under the salary cap must be at the front of the charge. That’s exactly what happened on Thursday night.
NEW YORK (April 19, 2023) – Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting has been suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head and interference against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak during Game 1 of the teams’ First Round series in Toronto on Tuesday, April 18, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 15:36 of the second period. Bunting was assessed a match penalty.
watch below..
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
The noise was heard on the streets, all around the city, and in the excited stands of the historically quiet Scotiabank Arena – the sounds, the buildup, the playoff excitement, like no other day at no other time – and then it all began and everything changed.
The great Maple Leafs tire fire. All at once. An early playoff implosion. An early playoff bombing of monumental proportions that didn’t seem plausible. This was Night One of the Maple Leafs annual chase of the Stanley Cup, one game at a time, one series at a time, and in the case of the devastating 7-3 Game 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was part embarrassment, part disaster, part further embarrassment.
These are the new Maple Leafs – with 10 different starters in the 20-man lineup from the roster of a year ago – looking like the old Maple Leafs, looking like the older Maple Leafs, only worse. These are the new Maple Leafs, already down a game, never showing a moment of home-ice advantage in Game 1, never displaying anything that resembled design, composure, decision-making, logic from the coach, or any ability at all to deal with the four-time Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Calling Game 1 ugly is showing a certain disrespect for ugly. If the Leafs have been worse, at home, at playoff time in a game that matters this much for any time in the Brendan Shanahan era, you can’t find it.
It didn’t happen before Tuesday night. Toronto hasn’t allowed seven goals against in a playoff game at home in 30 years, April 29, 1993, to be exact, a 7-3 Game 6 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Toronto’s Michael Bunting will have a hearing on Wednesday for an Illegal Check to the Head / Interference against Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 19, 2023
Video of the incident is below.
from Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail,
Can the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs?
Sure.
Will they?
Of course not.
Before every playoffs, outfits wholly dedicated to watching, dissecting and critiquing the game of hockey pick the winners and losers. Without fail, they are wrong. Often, they are wrong from top to bottom.
Why? Because these people have faith in numbers. They believe the guy who was very good on Tuesday when it didn’t matter all that much will be that way again on Saturday when it does.
There is only one hockey pattern I believe in any more, and it’s got nothing to do with percentage of high-danger chances. It’s destiny.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not meant to win. It would be wrong if they did.
Were they to win, this city – which, let’s face it, doesn’t have a whole lot to distinguish it in the first place – would be robbed of its identity. It would be a small civic calamity. And that’s just the first round.
What is Toronto? Toronto is Loserville, Canada, but in a nice way.
from David Alter of The Hockey News,
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed goaltender Nick Chenard to an amateur tryout agreement after the NHL had denied their request for salary cap-exempt goaltending recall.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Matt Murray remains unavailable to back up Samsonov on Monday and will likely not be available on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was believed the Maple Leafs would be permitted to use to call up another goaltender after signing University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout.
The Maple Leafs had Joseph Woll on their roster on Friday when they sent him down to the Toronto Marlies in exchange for Wayne Simmonds. On Saturday morning, the Leafs said they thought Matt Murray would be available to back up but that no longer appeared to be the case. Toronto then signed University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout to back up Samsonov against the Montreal Canadiens.