Intent on bucking recent history, the Toronto Maple Leafs lead the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 2-0 in their best-of-seven, second-round series as Game 3 approaches Friday.
The Maple Leafs have failed to advance past the second round of the NHL playoffs in every season since 2002, and they have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967.
The series now shifts to Panthers home ice in Sunrise, Fla., as the Leafs will once again look toward players such as goalie Joseph Woll and winger William Nylander.
Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz, who started in Game 1, did not travel with the team to Florida after leaving the opener in the second period after taking a hit to the head from Sam Bennett. Stolarz, a backup on the Panthers’ title-winning team last season, was seen vomiting near the bench and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
With Stolarz out, Woll has stepped in, but his solid play is not a surprise. During the regular season, the goalies split time when Stolar started 33 games and had a 2.14 goals-against average. Woll started 41 games with a 2.73 GAA.
Woll has won the last four playoff games he’s played in, dating to last season but had not played since April 17.
“It’s something I had to focus on, coming up with a plan to stay ready,” Woll said of his mindset prior to the Stolarz injury.
The Leafs won the opening game of the series 5-4 and took the second contest 4-3, while prevailing in different fashion.
In the Game 1, they led throughout and held on despite three third-period goals by the Panthers. In Game 2, Toronto came from behind and won it on Mitch Marner’s third-period goal.
Nylander has been a star with three goals and one assist in the series. Including the first-round series against the Ottawa Senators, Nylander has six goals and seven assists in eight games.
His play has made up for a quiet series so far from Auston Matthews (no goals, one assist) and John Tavares (zero points). During the regular season, the two stars combined for 71 goals and 152 points.
The Panthers have not given off a sense of panic, especially when they have yet to play a home game in this series, but there are concerns.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky held the Tampa Bay Lightning to 11 goals in five games in the first round. But in this series, he has allowed nine goals, including eight at even strength.
Forward Sam Reinhart, who led the Panthers in the regular season with 39 goals and 81 points, has zero points in this series.
Other Panthers stars have been largely absent from the score sheet: Matthew Tkachuk (one assist), Aleksander Barkov (one goal), Gustav Forsling (zero points).
In fact, Florida’s third line has carried the team with Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen each producing one goal and two assists.
But Marchand, who went 4-0 in playoff series against Toronto while playing for the Boston Bruins, said the Panthers need to do more on the defensive end.
“The biggest threat is that (Toronto) is very good on the rush,” Marchand said. “It doesn’t take much for them to score. We have to make sure we are pretty much perfect on our defensive coverage.”
–Field Level Media
