FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With the swing of a Brad Marchand overtime goal, the series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers has taken on an entirely different tenor, given the gulf between a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series and a 2-1 edge.
But the Panthers know they’re still down. They still have to come out of Florida with another win before heading back to Toronto to continue the series. They’ll get that chance in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TBS, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“It’s obviously huge to get that win, but our mentality doesn’t really change and how we approach each game, our style of play, doesn’t change,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “What we have to do to be successful doesn’t change, so we’ll take it on a game-by-game basis, just like we have been.”
To that end, the Panthers know they will have to start better. They have allowed first-minute goals in two of three games in the series, with William Nylander scoring 33 seconds into Game 1 and Matthew Knies scoring 23 seconds into Game 3.
So, what are they looking for at the start of Game 4?
“Not a goal against,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “That sounds silly, but that’s actually the truth. We had a strange one down the wall in the first game and we skated over a puck in the neutral zone in Game 3. Just maybe an awareness of how quick that game starts.”
It’s been a series in which each team has scored perhaps more than anticipated, with the Maple Leafs tallying 13 goals in the first three games and the Panthers getting 12, with those goals often taking strange bounces off players.
“The lesson is, don’t pass up shots, hitting the net,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “Because it is going off people because there’s numbers there all the time, especially in playoffs. You’ve got to get to the net to score goals in the playoffs for the most part. You’re going to have the [defensemen] and the opposition team, you’ve got forwards there and pucks just are bouncing in everywhere.
“It’s something that we talk about quite a bit. We need to get pucks there and we need to get people there.”
The home team has won each game so far in the series, with the Maple Leafs winning two in Toronto to start and the Panthers winning Game 3. If Florida rallies, it could become the seventh reigning Stanley Cup winner in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to move on after going down 2-0; only three have done it after the first round.
Here is a breakdown of Game 4:
Maple Leafs: Toronto captain Auston Matthews has yet to score in this series. Matthews, who has three assists, had two goals in the Maple Leafs’ six-game series against the Ottawa Senators in the first round. Berube has said he’s not worried about Matthews — that he has to “hit the net” — but Toronto needs more from its most important player. The Maple Leafs have been led offensively by Nylander, who has three goals in the series; Morgan Rielly, Matthew Knies and John Tavares each have two.
Panthers: With a focus on trimming the goals against, Florida aims to try and eliminate the rush chances Toronto has been getting. “I think first few games, our [third forward] has gotten caught a little bit, the [defensive] gaps have been not as tight as we want them to be in the neutral zone as well,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “They’re getting some of those rush chances. They’ve kind of changed the way they play, and they play a really fast game actually; they get the puck out their zone, they get to the neutral zone fast and they try to create bounces and hit underneath speed for rush chances. We’d kind of given them a little bit more space than we might have liked first few games.” Tightening that up would provide more support for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky than he’s been receiving.
Number to know: 37. Brad Marchand, the oldest player in the series, celebrates his 37th birthday Sunday. The forward scored the overtime goal in Game 3 and has an active five-game point streak (seven points; two goals, five assists).
What to look for: Can Joseph Woll turn it around? The Maple Leafs goalie started Game 3 with an injury to Anthony Stolarz and allowed five goals on 36 shots, so Toronto will need more from him. Can the Panthers’ third line of Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Marchand continue to subdue the Maple Leafs’ top line?
What they are saying
“With any player like that, the Matthews, the [Connor] McDavids of the world, you’re trying your best. At the end of the day, they’re going to get their chances, and what they create around the net — not necessarily with goals all the time — is chaos. They throw everything at the net. He’s in the corner, he’s slinging it from the net. He’s always creating, whether or not he’s on the scoreboard. We see that. It’s a tough job, for sure.” — Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the difficulty of containing Matthews
“I reached out to my wife and my mom and my wife’s mom. It’s a special day for myself and my wife; it’s her first Mother’s Day. It’s something really cool. Can’t wait to get home tomorrow and see the little guy and celebrate with them Mother’s Day. So, it’s a cool day for sure for my wife and both moms.” — Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner on his wife’s first Mother’s Day
