Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly celebrates his goal in the first period against the Florida Panthers during second-round NHL playoff action in Toronto on Monday, May 5, 2025.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
It was William Nylander who lit the fuse, but by the end it was Sam Bennett’s elbow that may have dropped the biggest bombshell on this series, even after the Toronto Maple Leafs hung on to take the opening game against the Florida Panthers Monday night.
Nylander had picked up right where he left off in the Battle of Ontario, scoring two goals – including the seventh-fastest goal in Leafs’ playoff history – and three points as Toronto skated off with a 5-4 win.
But Bennett’s elbow to the head of Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz midway through the contest – with Toronto up 4-1 at that point – forced him from the game and into “further evaluation” according to a team announcement.
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While most of the Leafs playing either didn’t see the play or weren’t about to be drawn on it, head coach Craig Berube said he’d leave any possible judgments about the play to the National Hockey League and the player safety committee.
“Well, they do their job,” he said afterwards. “They’ll look at everything and decide what’s necessary. I know it’s an elbow.”
As a result, backup Joseph Woll was pressed into his first playoff appearance of the spring, making 17 saves in relief. Stolarz, who had entered the game with a 2.21 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in the playoffs, had made eight saves before he departed.
His absence was certainly felt. With Woll in net, the Panthers scored three times on those 20 shots, and the Leafs’ 4-1 cushion was suddenly down to just one for most of the third period.
“He’s been our rock for the for the whole year,” said Chris Tanev. “So can’t say enough about him. So that’s all I’m really gonna say about it. And then Joe did a great job coming in. That’s not an easy thing to do, so gotta give him a ton of props for doing that.”
While the Maple Leafs wait to see what happens with their No. 1 goaltender, there is possible comfort to be found in the fact that teams that win the opening contest of a best-of-seven series have a series record of 531-249 (.681,) including a 6-2 mark this spring.
Much of the buildup to this game revolved around the only other playoff series contested between these two franchises. Two years ago, the mood around the Maple Leafs was almost cathartic with the team fresh off its first playoff series win in 19 years, before the Leafs promptly ran into a Florida juggernaut that was just getting into second gear.
That 4-1 Panthers series win not only trampled all over Toronto’s Stanley Cup dreams for another year, but set them on a course for a pair of final appearances, culminating in Florida’s first championship last spring.
But that was then, and this is now, and the Leafs – despite losing the season series to the Panthers 3-1 – managed to wrest the division crown from the Panthers, giving them home-ice advantage in the series.
“Can’t change anything that happened two years ago,” Mitch Marner said before the game, the day he turned 28. “We’re in the present moment now. And they got new players, we got new players. Nothing matters that happened those years ago.”
While some of those new players bring insider knowledge of the Panthers’ processes – Stolarz, blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Steven Lorentz all have their names etched on the Stanley Cup as members of last year’s winning squad – one of Florida’s newest players needs no introduction to Toronto – or its fans.
Former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand joined the Panthers at the trade deadline, after years of tormenting the Leafs in the postseason, having scored 29 points in 28 career games against them entering Monday’s contest. Even worse, over four series, Marchand ended up on the victorious side on each occasion.
He was booed throughout warmups, and as the last man on the ice it took the lights being turned off to get him off. It was no different in the game itself, but by that point, of course, Toronto was already a goal to the good.
Just 33 seconds in, Nylander picked up right where he left off in Game 6 of the Ottawa series, storming down the right wing and firing the puck short side on Bobrovsky to give the Leafs the early edge, with Max Pacioretty – fresh off his series-winning goal against Ottawa – earning the first assist.
He’s been our rock for the for the whole year.
— Toronto defenceman Chris Tanev on injured goalie Anthony Stolarz
After establishing something of a rhythm to their game, the Leafs jumped further in front, reflective of a dominant period in which they would outshoot the Panthers 12-4.
And for the fourth time in two games, it was Nylander who answered the bell, tucking a rebound from an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot comfortably over Bobrovsky’s glove, with Pacioretty again drawing an assist.
A bench minor for too many men on the ice put Florida back on the power play after 15:20 minutes, giving Seth Jones the opportunity to get Florida on the board with just over three minutes in the period with a long shot from the point that beat Stolarz.
But just 19 seconds later, a long pass from Nylander found Rielly streaking down the ice on a 2-on-1 with John Tavares. The veteran blueliner didn’t hesitate, firing the puck in off the post to restore Toronto’s two-goal lead heading into the first intermission. Rielly’s third goal of the postseason was also his 14th career playoff marker, passing Ian Turnbull for most among defencemen for the Original Six franchise.
“It’s cool,” Rielly said afterwards. “But ultimately, we’re still chasing one thing. And you ask anyone in here, no one is really focused on anything else besides that.”
It was the blueline that provided further offensive push in the second period, when Tanev fired a knuckling, bouncing puck past Bobrovsky for his first playoff goal in three years.
After losing Stolarz in the second, things appeared to get worse in the third, as Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen and Uvis Balinskis scored within the first five minutes – both assisted by Marchand – to get the nerves jangling around Scotiabank Arena.
But Matthew Knies took a pass from Marner and scored his fourth of the playoffs with six minutes to play to give Toronto the insurance marker it craved, and despite a late Bennett goal with under two minutes to play, the Leafs hung on for the victory.
For Nylander, who now has a share of the NHL playoff scoring lead with 12 points in seven games, it’s a sign of the team‘s continued maturity this year.
“I think we’ve been in tight games throughout the season where other teams are pushing and we’ve just found our way,” Nylander said. “And I think we dug into that and tried to … bear down and grind out the W.”
Game 2 goes Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
Florida Panthers defenceman Nate Schmidt, left, defenceman Uvis Balinskis, forward Brad Marchand, and forward Eetu Luostarinen celebrate a third-period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during Game 1 of round two of the NHL playoffs in Toronto on Monday, May 5, 2025.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press