The latest on Evan Rodrigues. And Panthers-Maple Leafs series is getting feisty
Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues returned to practice Tuesday after leaving the team’s 2-0 win in Game 4 of their Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday with injury.
He has not, however, been cleared yet to play in Game 5 on Wednesday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m., ESPN).
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said a decision on Rodrigues’ status for the game will be made after the team’s morning skate on Wednesday.
Rodrigues sustained the injury about five minutes into the third period when he took a high hit near the boards from Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson away from the puck. Rodrigues lied on the ice face-down for a few minutes before being helped off and into the dressing room.
Ekman-Larsson was initially assessed a five-minute major penalty for interference on the play, but the infraction was reduced to a two-minute minor penalty after review.
Rodrigues is the only Panthers player to dress for every game this season — all 82 in the regular season and each of the first nine so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He had 34 points in the regular season (15 goals, 17 assists) and three assists so far in the postseason.
The 31-year-old forward’s role has fluctuated throughout the season, with Rodrigues moving up and down the lineup. He started the playoffs on the fourth line with Nico Sturm and Jesper Boqvist before moving up to the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk in Game 4 of Florida’s first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He moved up to the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart ahead of Game 3 against the Maple Leafs.
Rodrigues also plays on the Panthers’ second power-play unit.
Series getting feisty
The hit on Rodrigues wasn’t the first controversial one in this series between the Panthers and Maple Leafs — nor was it the last.
There was already a brouhaha when Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was knocked out of Game 1 of the series following an inadvertent strike to the back of the head by Sam Bennett — the final of several blows Stolarz received during the game (including a hard-hit puck that dislodged his mask and a collision with one of his teammates). Bennett was not fined or given supplementary discipline for the altercation.
And then in the dying second of Game 4 on Sunday, Maple Leafs forward Max Domi boarded Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov while several players from both teams were in a midst of a board battle.
The league fined Domi $5,000 for the hit. Maurice said after the game that Barkov should be OK for Game 5.
“He’s trying to take a run at Barky in there,” Bennett said. “The boys did a good job jumping in there and sticking up for Barky. It’s been a physical series, so I expect more of that.”
After the final whistle blew, tensions were still high. Star Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk was seen on the Panthers’ bench leaning over and challenging William Nylander to a fight when the series resumes Wednesday night.
“I’m coming after you,’’ Tkachuk appears to say to Nylander in a conversation caught on camera.
Nylander downplayed the chat after the game.
“Just talk between us,’’ he said, before ultimately adding that Tkachuk “will probably do whatever he can do to get a player off their game. Next one will be a fun one.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
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