Panthers storm from behind with 2 goals in 47 seconds to take 2-0 series lead in Toronto
At the end of a stretch of five games in nine days and with the road win they needed already in the bank, the Florida Panthers could have coasted in Game 2 of the second round of the NHL playoffs on Thursday, especially after they fell behind by two goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs in just 5:10 in Canada.
These Panthers aren’t wired that way, though. Three of those five games were elimination situations, four of them were on the road, two went to overtime and three required comebacks, and they pulled out wins in all of them, culminating with a 3-2, come-from-behind win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
“We saw no reason to quit,” defenseman Radko Gudas told Bally Sports Florida.
Florida scored twice in the span of 47 seconds in the first 1:06 of the second period to take the lead for good and now the Panthers go back home to South Florida with a commanding 2-0 lead in their second-round series with the Stanley Cup-contending Maple Leafs.
The Panthers, who haven’t spent a night at home since Friday, will finally get two days off to recharge after their whirlwind week, and they can potentially close out the series without having to go back on the road again. Florida plays home games in Sunrise on Sunday and Wednesday, and wins in both would give the Panthers a sweep.
It’s a crazy turn of events given where Florida was just eight days ago, let alone back in the winter when the odds were stacked against them to just make the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. Last week, the Panthers were down to their final game, only to beat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins three times in a row, including in Game 7 on Sunday, to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NHL history.
“The atmosphere is good in the locker room,” star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said, “but it’s one game at a time, one shift at a time.”
Even their second game in Toronto required a wild turnaround. The Maple Leafs were up 1-0 in just 2:20 and 2-0 in just 5:10, and Toronto had an 8-2 lead in shots by then. The Maple Leafs got two power plays in the first seven minutes and by the end of the second one, they had 12 shots and more than 10 scoring chances.
Still, the Panthers were only down 2-1 at the first intermission after Anton Lundell scored off a slick backhand pass by fellow forward Sam Reinhart with 8:47 left in the first period. Within 66 seconds of the start of the second period, Florida was ahead and the sold-out crowd of 19,387 at Scotiabank Arena was stunned.
It started with a takeaway by right wing Anthony Duclair right at the edge of the offensive zone, and he handed the puck off to All-Star center Aleksander Barkov, who sniped a shot through traffic to tie the score at 2-2 just 19 seconds into the period. Less than a minute later, Florida turned on its aggressive forecheck again, forward Eetu Luostarinen blocked a clearing attempt at the edge of the offensive zone, superstar right wing Matthew Tkachuk zipped a pinpoint pass across the ice and defenseman Gustav Forsling scored to complete the comeback, and give the Panthers a 3-2 lead with 18:54 left in the second.
“We just work hard, we believe in each other, we believe in our system,” Barkov said. “That’s all it takes. We come here, we have a plan and we do it as well as possible.”
Added Tkachuk: “We’re just trying to play to our identity.”
Lundell also had an assist on the second goal, posted a plus-minus of plus-2, racked up four shots and blocked one. Barkov scored on his only shot, but blocked two and also had a plus-minus of plus-1. Forsling had three shots, blocked one and had a plus-minus of plus-1, too. Star defenseman Brandon Montour, although he didn’t score, had four shots, three blocks, and was on the ice for all three of the Panthers’ goals and none of Toronto’s.
Bobrovsky handled the rest. The 34-year-old goalie made 34 saves on 36 shots, including 28 in a row after he gave up the two early goals, and has now stopped 68 of 72 shots in the series and given the Panthers total control of Round 2.
“We had spent all we had coming in here,” coach Paul Maurice told Bally Florida, “and that was just character tonight.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2023 at 9:43 PM.
