Well, who doesn’t love a Game 7?
After winning three straight games to send the Toronto Maple Leafs to the brink of elimination, the Florida Panthers faltered on home ice Friday, falling 2-0 to knot the best-of seven at three games apiece.
The two teams combined for only nine shots on goal during the opening frame, with none getting past Sergei Bobrovsky, who made seven saves, and Joseph Woll, who had two.
Despite only registering the two shots, Florida still had eight scoring chances and 17 shot attempts.
When the second period began, the Panthers came out like gangbusters.
While there were still no goals scored, Florida outshot the Leafs 10-0 and had the edge in shot attempts 24-1 during the first 10 minutes of the second.
By the time the period was over, the Panthers had the edge in shots, attempts and scoring chances, but the game remained scoreless heading into the final frame.
A rare giveaway by Gus Forsling led to the game’s opening goal.
Auston Matthews picked up the puck just outside the blue line and carried it into Florida’s zone, snapping a shot that beat Bobrovsky through the legs to give Toronto a 1-0 lead with 13:40 left in the period.
Toronto doubled their lead on a rush play that developed after Nate Schmidt drove into the offensive zone and couldn’t recover.
Max Pacioretty finished off a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann with 5:43 to go.
That would be more than enough for the Maple Leafs, who will drag the Panthers back to Toronto for a deciding matchup.
On to Game 7.
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Photo caption: May 16, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) covers the puck from Toronto Maple Leafs center Bobby McMann (74) during the first period in game six of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
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