May 7, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN;Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Scott Laughton (24) battles for the puck with Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) during the second period in game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9e74599a-3c7f-46d5-8aa1-7c6c1723d317.jpeg] May 7, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN;Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Scott Laughton (24) battles for the puck with Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) during the second period in game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images) The Comeback Cats are going to be needed if the Florida Panthers are going to take down the Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida fell into an 0-2 series hole following Wednesday’s 4-3 defeat at Scotiabank Arena. The start of the game was all about special teams. After Florida killed off back-to-back penalties, Leafs center Bobby McCann was called for tripping Brad Marchand in Toronto’s end of the ice. Right off the ensuing faceoff, Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov wired a wrist shot past the glove of Joseph Woll to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the 10:58 mark. Florida’s third penalty of the period, a delay of game call on Dmitry Kulikov, would lead to the Leafs’ first goal. Max Pacioretty deflected a point shot by Morgan Reilly to knot the score at one with 1:41 to go in the period. Brad Marchand restored Florida’s lead by converting a nice pass from Anton Lundell just 15 seconds into the second period. Evan Rodrigues went to the Panthers locker room after taking a hit from behind by Scott Laughton, one that Rodrigues was called for embellishment. Toronto ended up taking a 3-2 lead into the second intermission after picking up a pair of rush goals by William Nylander and Max Domi, the latter of which came with just 2:51 left in the period. Lundell tied the game just over five minutes into the third period off a great cross-ice pass from Aaron Ekblad, but Mitch Marner went bar-down from the half wall just 17 seconds later to quickly restore the Leafs’ lead. That would be it for Florida, as they couldn’t come up with an equalizer. On to Game 3. QUICK THOUGHTS Barkov is up to two goals and six points during the postseason. Seth Jones has points in back-to-back games after picking up the primary assist on Barkov’s power play goal. Marchand extended his point streak to four games with his second period goal. He’s got six points during the run. Lundell also has points in four straight thanks to his primary helper on Marchand’s goal. Lundy has eight points during his streak. The third member of that line, Eetu Luostarinen, is also riding a four-game point streak. Eetu’s also racked up eight points during the run. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Panthers' Aaron Ekblad Opens Up About Brandon Hagel Hit [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-aaron-ekblad-opens-up-about-brandon-hagel-hit] Rookie Mackie Samoskevich slots back into Panthers lineup for Game 2 in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/rookie-mackie-samoskevich-slots-back-into-panthers-lineup-for-game-2-in-toronto] Panthers Star Needs Big Bounce-Back Game Against Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-star-needs-big-bounce-back-game-against-maple-leafs] Panthers enter Game 2 in Toronto aiming for split after dropping series opener [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-enter-game-2-in-toronto-aiming-for-split-after-dropping-series-opener] Three takeaways: Panthers struggle recovering from poor start, penalty kill remains major strength [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-struggle-recovering-from-poor-start-penalty-kill-remains-major-strength]
