As tide of series shifts, Florida Panthers now in position to eliminate Maple Leafs
Paul Maurice doesn’t believe in momentum. The veteran Florida Panthers coach has made that very clear during the past few days.
It was true when his team lost its first two games to the Toronto Maple Leafs to begin this second-round Stanley Cup playoffs series. He didn’t waver on that thought after the Panthers clawed back into the series with an overtime win in Game 3 or when they logged a shutout in Game 4 to even things up.
And when the Panthers routed the Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena — a game in which Florida was 66 seconds from a second consecutive shutout and a game that had the home crowd booing its team by the second intermission? Status quo.
“If we took that concept and applied it and felt it was true in the room, you would put yourself in a very, very difficult position if you lose the next game,” Maurice said. “I would say we leave the game here. We’re going to have a certain kind of day [Thursday] that we’ve had a bunch of times. It won’t be a happier day or a better day than other days on our travel days. It’s going to be exactly the same.”
Continuity is key for a team, especially in the playoffs. Maurice does an admirable job of making sure his team stays steady regardless of the situation. It’s a big part in why the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final each of his first two years at the helm, why they won it all last year and why they have a good chance of making it back there again this year.
The Panthers have trust in themselves, in their process, in their routine.
And it’s a big reason this series has shifted during the past three games.
“We learned from from every game,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously, winning is great, but when you lose, you learn the most. We learned a lot those first two games, and we fixed some things, but every game is tougher and tougher.”
The hardest game comes next, with the Panthers having their first chance to wrap up the series and advance to the Eastern Conference final for a third consecutive season coming on Friday. Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. from Sunrise’s Amerant Bank Arena (TNT, tru TV, Max).
The Panthers are 8-6 in potential series-clinching games during the past three playoffs, with half of those losses coming in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers when they nearly blew a 3-0 series lead before winning Game 7 to secure the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Maurice thinks back to the Panthers’ first run in 2023, specifically with their series against Toronto in the second round, when looking at the team’s growth when it comes to closing out series.
“Two years ago, we had a 3-0 series lead, went home and wanted it so bad that we tried to make it happen every time we touched the puck,” Maurice said. “We were just throwing hope plays. I think [we now have] a bit of a patience in our game. If you learn something, you usually don’t forget it, right? Like if you learn how to tie your shoes, two years later, you don’t forget. We thought we learned it two years ago and then forgot it for three straight games in the final last year. It’s nothing you get to keep. It’s something that you have to live through.”
Being able to play to their style of game helps, too. Florida played from behind all of Game 1, failed to get any separation in Game 2 and had to rally from multiple two-goal deficits in Game 3. The Panthers took the lead early in both Games 4 and 5, which allowed them to assert their defensive dominance on the Maple Leafs the rest of the way.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been dominant in net as well, stopping 54 of 55 shots against during the past two games.
“It was a belief in our group, our veteran group, that has been in this situation before,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “At the end of the day, the job’s not done. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
History is in their favor at this point, though. According to the NHL, the all-time series record of teams that pulled even at 2-2 after facing a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series and won Game 5 is 37-10. The series record of teams that lost Game 5 in that same scenario? 11-54.
“We’re just focused on one at a time,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. “We had one job to do today. Now, it’s about recovering, getting ready for the next one and getting back home in front of our fans again.”
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