Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies battles for the puck with Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad in game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, on May 7.Nick Turchiaro/Reuters
The Maple Leafs may have the defending champions down, but they are still a long way from out.
That was the prevailing feeling after Toronto’s seesaw 4-3 victory Wednesday against the Florida Panthers, who now head home to Sunrise, Fla., trailing 2-0 in a series for the first time since the 2023 Stanley Cup final.
“We knew that they were going to play a very, very intense game, and we were able to match that intensity, and it feels really good, but at the same time, we know they’re going to come out even harder in Sunrise,” said Max Pacioretty, who got the Leafs on the board with the first goal Wednesday night. “So enjoy it now but get ready to really get to work.”
The series resumes on Friday at Amerant Bank Arena, where Florida, which is 0-5 all-time in series in which it falls behind 2-0, will try to rewrite its playoff history.
Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who returned Wednesday following a two-game suspension for his hit on Tampa’s Brandon Hagel in the previous round, says his team has come too far to panic now.
“We have a lot of experience from the last five or six seasons,” he said. “We are comfortable in these situations.”
Mitch Marner scored what stood up to the be the eventual game winner at the 5:50 mark of the third period, his first goal since the first game of the playoffs, against Ottawa on April 20. The goal, a hopeful shot from the point that somehow found its way past Sergei Bobrovsky in the Florida net, capped a whirlwind week for Marner, who welcomed his first son, Miles, on Sunday, before celebrating his 28th birthday the following day.
“It’s been a really exciting time in my house with my wife and I and our families, just with the excitement of our newborn,” he said. “… My wife’s been an absolute beast this whole process, letting me get my sleep and then really taking the reins on our newborn. So it’s been a special moment. It’s a pretty special feeling tonight for scoring that goal, for sure.”
Marner’s goal, his 60th career playoff point, capped what had been a back-and-forth game, with the lead changing hands, and Pacioretty, Max Domi and William Nylander, whose second-period goal simultaneously pulled the Leafs into a 2-2 tie with Florida and pushed Nylander into a tie with Connor McDavid at the top of the playoff scoring race with his 13th point.
But in many ways the star of the show was Joseph Woll, who turned aside 26 Panthers shots in his fifth playoff start.
With Anthony Stolarz still out following the forearm shiver he took from Sam Bennett in Monday’s win, and no timeline for his return according to head coach Craig Berube on Wednesday morning, it was Woll’s turn to make his first playoff start since last spring. Back then he also took over mid-series from the Maple Leafs starter, replacing Ilya Samsonov and winning both his starts against the Boston Bruins.
But it was still 20 days since Woll last started a game, against Detroit in the regular-season finale on April 17. Having actually started more games than Stolarz in the regular season – 41 to his teammate’s 33 - Woll explained it took something of a mental adjustment to ensure he was ready to go if called upon.
“Yeah, it’s been something I’ve had to focus on and come up with a plan to stay ready as well as I can,” said the 26-year-old. “And it’s a different challenge than playing every night, but a challenge nonetheless. And I think I’ve done what I’ve needed to do to prepare to be in this spot.”
He showed little rust in net Wednesday night, making some big stops at key times, with arguably none bigger than a point-blank full-splits toe save on Panthers’ rookie Mackie Samoskevich parked at the side of the net. And the Leafs tried to make life as easy as possible for Woll, getting in front of pucks on a regular basis and blocking 23 shots, compared to the eight that Florida stymied.
In the other net, Florida’s Bobrovsky has endured something of a rough ride through the opening two games of the series, giving up nine goals on 50 shots for a .820 save percentage. But the Leafs know that the good times won’t go on forever, and that the two-time Vezina Trophy winner is going to regain his form eventually.
“It’s not going to last, we know that,” Pacioretty said. “He’s one of the best goalies in the league, and we got to make life hard on him as the series goes on. And two games obviously doesn’t mean anything, especially when it comes to a goaltender like that that’s had success for so long.”
Still, the Leafs have shown how dangerous they are, with Nylander in a rich vein of form thanks to five goals and seven points in his past three games, and Pacioretty getting six points over the same span.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed in Florida’s locker room either, with Brad Marchand, who scored the Panthers’ second of the night, admitting that this Leafs team is for real. The former Boston Bruins captain, who was traded to Florida ahead of this year’s trade deadline, is playing in his fifth playoff series against the Leafs, with Wednesday being his 30th playoff contest against them.
“They continue to get better,” he said. “They brought a lot of good pieces in. We knew it would be a tough battle. We didn’t expect to roll over them by any means.
“You can’t get too high or too low. These series can change on a dime. We are playing for tomorrow now.”
With a report from Marty Klinkenberg