The Florida Panthers have successfully coaxed the Toronto Maple Leafs into a series that is not to their advantage, and they are likely not to win. After allowing 13 goals in three games and pulling out a 5-4 overtime win on Friday, the Panthers relied on their signature traits to even the series at 2-2 with a 2-0 shutout victory on Sunday.
The reigning Cup champions played stifling defense, shutting down the middle of the ice, and not allowing the Leafs to generate speed through the zone. They limited chances on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who faced only a few good scoring chances in a 23-save shutout performance. And most successfully, they made Craig Berube’s crew lose their composure.
Aided by what looked to be one-sided officiating in the first period, the Panthers were given four power plays in the opening 20 minutes, with Carter Verhaeghe cashing in on the final opportunity.
The Leafs were in the game in the sense that they were only down by a goal until late in the third, thanks to an excellent 35-save performance by Joseph Woll, but the slim lead seemed cavernous because simply put, the Panthers suffocated Toronto at even strength and especially on their three chances on the man advantage. Woll held off Florida until late in regulation, when Sam Bennett provided the coup de grace, but other than an Auston Matthews chance in the second period and a breakaway by Matthew Knies, the Leafs did not make Bobrovsky work very hard.
Florida is very workmanlike in their approach, and have been systematically wearing down the Leafs with their heavy forechecking and borderine hitting. They are expected to play that way, so it appears that things like Brad Marchand jump checking Chris Tanev are par for the course, but if Toronto begins to response in kind, that is out of character and gets called. Oliver Ekman-Larsson appeared frustrated after the puck-over-the-glass minor in the first, and was assessed a major for a hit on Evan Rodrigues, but that later reduced to a minor for interference after it was found there was no head contact.
Toronto had their moments, as Simon Benoit laid the best check of the series on Sam Reinhart in the first period, but the frustration bubbled over at the end of the game, as Max Domi took a healthy run at Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov at the buzzer. This drew a major for boarding and a $5,000 fine from the NHL, but also played right into Florida’s hands.
It is understandable that Toronto wants to alleviate and respond to the punishment they are taking, but that is playing on the field of battle that the Panthers want to play on. It is the Battle of Agincourt on the ice, drawing the Leafs into a muddy field where they get bogged down and where Florida has the advantage.
Two areas of concern coming out of this game. The Panthers forecheck has begun to wear down the Leafs defense, especially Chris Tanev, Ekman-Larsson, and Morgan Rielly. That is leading to turnovers and sloppy play in the defensive zone. That was covered up by Woll’s best performance in the postseason, but whether he can do that every night is a question yet to be answered.
The other concern is Toronto’s five-forward power play. It’s first chance early in the second period held the puck in the Florida zone for nearly the entire two minutes, but their other two chances were weak and dangerous, as the Panthers nearly took advantage of Mitch Marner playing defense. Toronto is 2-for-15 in the series, something that Florida is not afraid of and just encourages them to be more brazen.
There are a ton of shenanigans in this series. I wonder where the officials have been looking.
I have seen this movie before. If Matthew does not show up soon we will have the same ending.