Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save against Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner during the third period of Game 5.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
The Maple Leafs were manhandled every which way on Wednesday in a 6-1 loss to the Panthers and now sit just one loss shy of elimination from the NHL playoffs.
Both teams took 32 shots but Toronto piled them up at the end. Florida had more hits and won more faceoffs. The Maple Leafs gave the puck away 21 times, the Panthers 10.
The biggest advantage for the Stanley Cup champions came in the crease again. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 of 32 shots. By the time Toronto scored with a little more than a minute left, Bobrovsky had strung together more than 147 minutes without allowing a goal.
In short, the Maple Leafs have been “Bobbed” now in three straight defeats. Joseph Woll gave up five goals on 25 shots before he was pulled in the third period and Matt Murray allowed one in seven. It is not a good thing when he is anywhere but on the bench.
“Toronto is going to get looks,” Sam Reinhart, the Panthers centre, said. “They are a dangerous team. Sergei just did what he does. Time and again he makes the big stops.”
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Florida can win the second-round series with a victory at home on Friday. If a Game 7 is needed, it will be held at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday.
With a loss, the Maple Leafs would be bounced from the postseason for the ninth straight year. Seven times they have lost in the first round. Winning one round may look like an improvement, but how much, really?
Their performance in Game 5 was startlingly inept. They were booed by their home crowd multiple times. They didn’t push much when they needed to. They finally dropped their gloves when the result had long been determined.
The Florida Panthers thumped the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round NHL playoff series.
The Canadian Press
In the last six-odd minutes the teams were penalized for 60 minutes.
Six different players scored for the Panthers, including four who had not had a goal in the playoffs before Wednesday’s contest.
Auston Matthews has not tallied a goal in five games and has just three in his last 21 in the postseason. Mitch Marner pulled a disappearing act again.
Bobrovsky was not tested very often early but when he was he made saves on five-alarm chances.
“It’s tough to say if I ever feel like I am in control,” Bobrovsky said. “I try to stay in the moment and not think about it too much. You don’t know how things will turn out.”
Far more often than not he is absolutely in control even if he won’t admit it.
“It’s a team sport,” he said. “Everybody played hard.”