Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews (34) consoles teammate Joseph Woll (60) in the final moments of third period NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action against the Florida Panthers, in Toronto, on May 18.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
In their biggest game in over 20 years, the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday with barely a whimper, as the Florida Panthers steamrolled them 6-1 in Game 7 of their second-round series.
As a result, the Panthers, the defending champions, are one series away from a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup final. They will open the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
In the end, having fought all season for home-ice advantage, it didn’t really amount to much, with Toronto getting outscored 12-2 in its last two games at Scotiabank Arena. And that home ice turned into a house of horrors late on. With the result already a foregone conclusion, jerseys and beer cans were thrown on to the ice as the fan base once again expressed its frustration.
For the Maple Leafs, Sunday’s Game 7 loss represents yet another year of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens, with the chance for a first conference final in 23 years having gone up in smoke. And of course, no one needs to mention the 58 years since the last Stanley Cup victory parade in this city.
However, after six consecutive Game 7 losses for this group – and seven winner-take-all losses in total including the Game 5 loss to Columbus in the best-of-five pandemic playoff format – real, meaningful change may be upcoming.
Pain-generator Maple Leafs deliver emphatically once again
The usual option to simply run things back may be off the table. Both Mitch Marner and John Tavares are unrestricted free agents, and it remains to be seen if there is the appetite and the stomach on both sides to get new deals done, even after both posted spectacular regular-season numbers.
Florida came out with the bit between its teeth and then some, rattling off the first seven shots of the game without reply. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube had said Sunday morning that he expected his team to show some nerves for the first couple of shifts – it was Game 7, after all – but even he must have been exasperated by what he saw. It took almost 12 minutes for his team to register a shot on net.
Given the recent hockey history in the city, the high stakes of this contest had naturally been a significant talking point in the buildup to the game, the 28th Game 7 in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Both William Nylander and Morgan Rielly – now both 0-6 in career Game 7s – had no qualms in uttering the word “nerves” following the morning skate.
Florida Panthers centre Anton Lundell scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll during the second period.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky poke checks Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg during the first period.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
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Pontus Holmberg of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles for the puck against Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Jonah Gadjovich of the Florida Panthers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Fans react as they watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Florida Panthers.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
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Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles against Evan Rodrigues of the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs checks Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Max Pacioretty of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers defends the goal against Bobby McMann and Max Pacioretty of the Toronto Maple Leafs.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs makes a save against the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander controls the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones during the first period.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
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Fans react as they watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Florida Panthers.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
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Florida Panthers centre Evan Rodrigues fails to get the puck past Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll during the first period.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save as Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares and defenceman Niko Mikkola battle for position.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
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In comparison, none of the Florida Panthers players who were put in front of the media – Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, or Brad Marchand, playing in his 13th Game 7 – had deigned to mention the word.
Instead, they chose to focus more on words like “opportunity,” and seemed to exude a sense of calm in the eye of the storm, saying that it’s something that they try to replicate throughout the season, preparing for these do-or-die games.
“Who cares, it’s Game 7,” Tkachuk said about the possibility of making a mistake. “Don’t you want to make that play? I mean, it’s what you dream about. If you’re gonna play tentative you probably don’t belong in these games, so go out there, have fun, try to make a difference.”
For Florida, reaching another Game 7 – and going beyond it – was essentially just business as usual. The team won one in each of the past two years – with last year’s coming memorably after coughing up a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup final.
By the midpoint of second period, they would have another 3-0 lead to defend, this time with a ticket to the conference final as the reward for doing so.
Seth Jones, whose father Popeye once patrolled the court for the Raptors, got the red light warmed up. The defenceman took the puck from Evan Rodrigues, looked off a pass to Sam Reinhart, and fired it high past Joseph Woll for his third of the playoffs just 3:45 in.
Anton Lundell grabbed the second four minutes later, capitalizing on a mistake by Woll, who dropped a shot from Marchand that was tipped by Eetu Luostarinen, leaving Lundell with the simplest of tap-ins.
And Jonah Gadjovich completed the hat trick – or should that be rat trick? – 2:21 later, with Florida just about staying onside. Jones carried the puck in, fed A.J. Greer, who passed to Gadjovich, and the winger tucked it under Woll for a lead that looked all but insurmountable.
With Toronto Game 7 heroes of the past on hand, such as Lanny McDonald – who memorably eliminated the New York Islanders in a Game 7 overtime 47 years ago – the onus was on the Leafs to find a way back into the game.
Max Domi understood the assignment and went to work early in the third period, beating Sergei Bobrovsky just 2:07 in for his third goal of the playoffs to inject some hope into the proceedings.
But on Florida’s very next attack, Luostarinen tipped a Marchand shot past Woll, and the hill looked insurmountable again.
Reinhart tacked on another at the midway point of the period, and Marchand – who has now won all five Game 7s he’s contested against the Leafs – added an empty-netter to add the unwanted exclamation point in enemy territory.