Toronto continued to press with Samsonov on the bench for an extra attacker, but couldn’t beat Bobrovsky. The Maple Leafs winger was also denied in tight with five minutes left in regulation. Tavares was stopped in alone and Nylander hit another post. Toronto came out for the third with plenty of urgency, but couldn’t solve Bobrovsky, who has started to rediscover his Vezina Trophy-winning form in these playoffs after losing the starting job late in the regular season to third-stringer Alex Lyon. The Panthers defenseman returned for the third period. Toronto captain John Tavares had a great chance in front before Josh Mahura took a Nylander shot off the visor that left a trail of blood on the ice as he exited for the locker room. Florida defenseman Brandon Montour then hit the post at the other end. The Maple Leafs took a while to recover before Nylander hit the post with a shot that also hit Bobrovsky in the back and stayed out.

“We’re just trying to play our identity.” “We’re not just running around like animals,” Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. Less than a minute later, there was some sloppy play by Toronto in the defensive zone when Mitch Marner flipped an ill-advised pass to Auston Matthews, who couldn’t get it out of the zone.įlorida quickly countered as Forsling finished off a setup by Matthew Tkachuk - his fourth of the series - for his second and a 3-2 lead. Trouble found the Maple Leafs in the second.īarkov tied the game 19 seconds into the period on a long shot for his second goal of the postseason. Toronto led 2-1 following a spirited, chippy first period. “It was just about character and it was just about fighting through it and battling.” “That’s five games in nine nights of as intense, emotional pressure you can put on a hockey team.

“It’s perspective,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. The Panthers are in the midst of an impressive run, taking a two-game lead in the series after eliminating the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in seven games, including three times on the road. The best-of-seven series shifts to Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Sunday. “And ask what I need to do more? This is what we need to do - everybody.” ″(Go) back home, look in the mirror,” Samsonov added. Ryan O’Reilly and Alexander Kerfoot scored for Toronto, which blew an early 2-0 lead. 'We didn’t make those mistakes one time in the last series.”Īnton Lundell had a goal and an assist, and Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling also scored for Florida. “Disappointing, baffling,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The lost duke of wyndham series