The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers will meet in the playoffs for the second time in three years. In the 2023 playoffs, Nick Cousins finished the Leafs off with an overtime-winning goal in Game 5. Things have changed since then, as the Panthers have won a Stanley Cup and the Leafs have won another playoff series. This series is set to start on Monday in Toronto.
Let’s take a look at some key factors to watch in this series.
Learning from the past
Going into the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the vibes were high in Toronto after the Leafs won their first playoff series since 2004. Unfortunately, the Leafs ran into a red-hot Panthers team that ended up making it to the Cup Finals. The second round series in 2023 was a fairly low-scoring matchup with only 24 goals scored in five games.
One of the biggest difference makers in this series was the Panthers’ ability to hold leads and come back when they were down. In Games 2 and 3, the Panthers fell behind early, but ultimately prevailed thanks to clutch scoring. In Games 1 and 5, the Panthers blew two-goal leads, but were able to hang on and win. A significant factor for the Leafs this year will be to dictate the pace of play.
The Panthers were the ones to control play in 2023. The Leafs will have a better chance this year as they have a better roster built for the playoffs. They have lost some dead weight of the 2023 roster that included TJ Brodie, Justin Holl, Michael Bunting, and Alexander Kerfoot. This season, the Leafs brought in better depth players such as Chris Tanev, Scott Laughton, and Brandon Carlo. The breakout of Matthew Knies has also been a pleasure to see in the current playoff run. He will need to continue to drive the forecheck for the Leafs against a strong Panthers lineup.
Season series review
Looking at the season series, the Leafs lost three out of four games against the Panthers. They were outscored 7–13 and struggled mightily on the power play. Going one for nine on the power play is not a recipe for success. Special teams in general were a disaster for the Leafs in the season series. The team went 6–11 on the penalty kill, giving up five power play goals in just four games. Special teams will be vitally important in this series.
The star players of the Panthers showed up big against the Leafs this year. Sam Bennett had three goals and five points while Sam Reinhart had two goals and five points in the series. The star players on the Leafs struggled to produce any kind of offence in the season series. Mitch Marner had two goals and three points while Auston Matthews had one assist in three games. Star power will be on full display in this series. The Panthers bolstered their lineup with the addition of Brad Marchand at the trade deadline, who has dismantled the Leafs in previous years. The core four of the Leafs will need to produce like they did in round one against the Ottawa Senators.
Focus on goaltending
Goaltending will be a massive factor for both teams. Anthony Stolarz had a fantastic first-round series against Ottawa, while Sergei Bobrovsky is arguably the best goalie in the playoffs. The stats speak for themselves as both goalies had a .901 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average in Round 1. Stolarz did have to make 28 more saves, but he let in three more goals than Bobrovsky. This will be an epic goalie matchup to watch.
Stolarz appeared in three of the four meetings against the Panthers this season, posting a 1–2 record. He allowed nine goals across three games, which raises a little bit of concern. If things do not work out well for Stolarz in this series, Joseph Woll is an excellent backup option for the Leafs. He is coming off a great season and had a solid start against the Panthers late in the season. Woll stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 3–1 loss. The goalies in Toronto will need some more goal support than they received in the regular season against Florida.
Bobrovsky started all four games for the Panthers against the Leafs. A 3–1 record states that he was able to hold things down against the Leafs’ offence. He let in seven goals in the four games, making it seem like the Leafs can score against him. The key will be scoring on him early and refusing to let him heat up. Bobrovsky collapsed hard against the Edmonton Oilers last year in the Stanley Cup Finals. This was because the Oilers’ offence was too much to handle. The core four in Toronto will need to score at a rapid pace to win this series.
Up Next: The Toronto Maple Leafs’ keys to victory over the Florida Panthers
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