![]() “I know all of the really smart guys do wonderful things to relieve the pressure on their team but we’ve been in it, so it’s not a new experience. “I want them to take it in,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. Louis Blues in mid-February while they slowly built up their bottom six afterward.Īdd in rookie Matthew Knies, who proved to be a solid addition to the team in the postseason after finishing up his career with the University of Minnesota, and the Panthers have a tough task ahead of them.Įspecially with a rabid Toronto crowd that spent 19 years desperate for second-round playoff hockey going against them to kick off the series. Their big swing was acquiring 2019 Conn Smythe winner Ryan O’Reilly and ex-Panther Noel Acciari in a package from the St. ![]() It took a while for the Maple Leafs to make it over the hump to the second round - six years for this particular group and 19 years in total for the franchise - but they were able to do so by acquiring the right pieces to surround their core at the deadline. Toronto features a four-headed monster up front in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.įour forwards who are capable of putting up 80+ points a season and, in Matthews’ and Nylander’s case, 40-plus goals. The challenge ahead for Florida is very similar. The one thing that did bring us together last series was that we knew we were the crazy underdog story and that doesn’t change this series.” “I don’t think it fuels us, I don’t think we necessarily care. “There are a lot of people out there who do not think we will be able to pull this one off just like they didn’t think we would be able to pull the last one off,” Matthew Tkachuk said. Lafferty recorded one helper through five games and is a minus-three in the series, while Aston-Reese scored one goal in the Maple Leafs' Game 2 blowout.The Florida Panthers will open their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the underdog.Īfter taking down the record-breaking Boston Bruins, the Panthers are +140 underdogs to defeat the Maple Leafs and move onto the Conference Final. The Scarborough native logged 23 goals and 26 assists in 82 games during the regular season. Bunting was available to return in Game 5 but was made a healthy scratch as Keefe selected the same lineup that fired off three straight victories to put Tampa Bay on the brink of elimination. Prior to Game 6, Bunting hadn't played since earning a three-game suspension for his hit on Bolts defenseman Erik Cernak during the series opener on April 18. Toronto acquired him prior to the trade deadline, but he only got into nine contests with his new team. Gustafsson, meanwhile, had 42 points in 70 games as a member of the Washington Capitals and Maple Leafs this campaign. Liljegren, 23, put up 18 points and was a plus-24 in 67 regular-season contests in 2022-23. ![]() Liljegren and Gustafsson both made their series debuts. Keefe defended Holl after the contest, pointing out that the beleaguered blue-liner was "not out there by himself." The Maple Leafs have been outscored 14-2 with Holl on the ice in all situations during the first-round clash, and he was on for three of the Lightning's four goals during Game 5. Struggling defenseman Justin Holl sat out, as did forwards Sam Lafferty and Zach Aston-Reese. ![]()
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