Maple Leafs Collapse Against Panthers, Face Elimination
Toronto’s fans booed as the final buzzer sounded at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night, as the Maple Leafs moved closer to extending their 57-year Stanley Cup drought, following a 6-1 loss to the Panthers.
Fans even threw their jerseys on the ice as Toronto saw their 2-0 series lead turn into a 3-2 deficit. However, coach Craig Berube wants his players to focus on the game.
That last game was about thinking and not playing hockey. Right now, [the players] need to come together as a team and breathe. Stop thinking about the game. Relax. We’ll start thinking about the game when it matters.
Craig Berube
To return to Toronto for a Game 7, the Leafs will have to win in Florida, but they are likely to be without starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who has been out of action since Game 1 of the series due to an undisclosed injury. Although he resumed skating over the weekend and participated in a 30-minute practice on Thursday, Berube doubts that Stolarz will join the Leafs in Florida for Game 6.
This leaves the responsibility in the hands of his replacement, Joseph Woll, who conceded five goals on 25 shots on Wednesday.
The players gathered after the game to analyze what went wrong, and Berube had a team meeting scheduled for Thursday after the Leafs landed in Fort Lauderdale.
A loss is a loss. If we had lost 2-1 [on Wednesday] and it was a close game, would it really matter today? They beat us. I’ve been in this situation before. We’ll all be down and dejected, but we can’t be. We have to regroup.
Craig Berube
This includes the Leafs’ top skaters. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander have failed to score against Florida.
In Game 5, the Panthers repeatedly frustrated Toronto’s offensive attempts and bombarded them with stifling pressure that left the Leafs reeling offensively.
Meanwhile, Florida punished Woll until defenseman Aaron Ekblad broke the deadlock with the first goal of the game late in the first period. Toronto’s own mistakes, including a shot by Dmitry Kulikov that beat Woll after a deflection off Leafs forward Scott Laughton, and a bewildering turnover by Marner in his own zone to set up a goal by Jesper Boqvist, led to a three-goal second period. After AJ Greer made it 5-1 for Florida with his first playoff goal, Woll was replaced by Matt Murray.
It was very disappointing. But at the end of the day, whether we lost the way we lost last night or we lost in overtime, whatever, we’re still in a position where we’re ready to fight. We have to go there [to Florida] and play our best game. We can’t dwell on all kinds of [other] things.
Morgan Rielly
The Leafs controlled the series against Florida at the beginning, obtaining victories in Games 1 and 2 and accumulating advantages of several goals in Game 3. However, it was at the end of that encounter when Florida changed the course, and they have not looked back. The Panthers recovered in the second period of Game 3 to score three goals and take their first lead of the night. Rielly’s goal in the middle of the third period tied the game and forced overtime, but Brad Marchand scored the winning goal for Florida.
That Rielly goal would be Toronto’s last against Sergei Bobrovsky for nearly six periods of hockey. Toronto was shut out 2-0 by the Panthers in Game 4 and was dangerously close to being shut out again if it weren’t for Nick Robertson’s late goal in Game 5.
Bobrovsky struggled to open the series against the Leafs, allowing nine goals in the first two games for an .820 SV%, but has shut the door since the end of that Game 3 victory. He has stopped 54 of 55 shots in Games 4 and 5 for a .982 SV%.
Robertson’s goal did little for the fans.
It’s difficult. But they [the fans] have the right to do what they want. We need to improve and play better. We hope to have a team that goes out and wins and competes. When that doesn’t happen, everyone is upset.
Morgan Rielly
Rielly is the longest-tenured member of the Leafs and has experienced the many ups and downs that Toronto has suffered trying to exorcise the playoff demons of the past. Brandon Carlo, acquired at the March trade deadline, is newer to Toronto’s story, but shared Rielly’s view that, despite the fans’ emphatic response to their poor performance, it’s not something that should persist.
In a game like that, you don’t want to think too much about those things. It’s a passionate fanbase… there will be ups and downs for sure, but from a playoff series standpoint in the past, I’ve been in these situations. I’ve had bad games in the playoffs; it’s not limited to this group by any means. I think that’s something to keep in mind as well.
Brandon Carlo
