May 11, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72), center Aleksander Barkov (16) and left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrate after they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in game four of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ef2daf03-10d1-4506-90fd-8146bd4387df.jpeg] May 11, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72), center Aleksander Barkov (16) and left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrate after they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in game four of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) It’s amazing how much a playoff series can change in just a few days. After dropping the first two games of their second-round playoff series, the Florida Panthers have come storming back, winning both games on home ice capped off by Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The series now shifts back to Toronto, where the Cats and Leafs will battle to see which team can put the other on the brink of elimination. Sunday’s game was very possibly Florida’s best of the postseason, as they controlled the pace of play and puck possession for much of the night. With the series now taking two days between games, it should be little break for the Panthers, who should be brimming with confidence. Let’s get to Sunday’s takeaways: A DIFFERENT FEEL As this series has progressed, the Panthers have appeared to get more and more comfortable. It was more than a little surprising to see them lose consecutive games to open the series, something that they only did twice during last year’s Stanley Cup run. The first three games of the series saw the teams combine to score 25 goals. High scoring affairs are not typically the kind of games Florida is involved with, so to see them get back to playing ‘Panthers hockey’ on this grand of a scale was quite welcomed. “We had a few good shifts early, and we didn’t get scored on in the first 35 seconds, that was a nice change for us,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We’re mindful that it's one game. I don't believe in momentum, I don't believe in trends. The puck will drop the next game, and then we'll have fight hard to get back to what I felt was a pretty well-played game by our team.” SECOND LINE LOOKING FAMILIAR When the series moved back to Sunrise, Maurice made several changes to the Panthers lineup. The big move which has gotten much attention was swapping out the entire fourth line, as the new group – A.J. Greer, Tomas Nosek and Jonah Gadjovich – has played exceptional over the past two games. Another change that hasn’t gotten the same spotlight but has been equally important was moving Carter Verhaeghe back to the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. The combination of speed, skill and grit with that trio is unmatched when they’re going, and boy did they look good during Games 3 and 4. Between Verhaeghe’s growing confidence and Tkachuk getting healthier, if they group gets going, considering how good the Barkov and Lundell lines have been going, it could be very bad news for Toronto. “I think that Matthew (Tkachuk) is back of his full game, and that was part of it,” Maurice said. “Now (Sam) Bennett and Tkachuk are actually the pair, and they need to be at full tilt for Carter (Verhaeghe). Carter needs a certain pace to play well and he needs a certain intensity to play well. Matthew’s back and Sam Bennett has been very consistent, but it's almost not an advantage to having Carter play with Sam and Matthew when Matthew was just still trying to find his game. He was off for so very, very long, he couldn't do a lot of training. I feel that Matthew is back to this game again now, and that allows Carter to go there and make them a strong line.” BIG GAME FROM BOB It had been a tough series for goaltending in general entering Game 4, but all that changed on Sunday night. Both netminders, Sergei Bobrovsky for Florida and Joseph Woll for Toronto, played their best games of the series. Bobrovsky finished with 23 saves, nearly half of which came during the game’s final 20 minutes, including stops on all seven high danger shots Toronto sent his way. “I think we just totally take him for granted, which is what happens to all elite goaltenders,” Maurice said. “I can speak for myself, if he has a game that you don't think it's Sergei Bobrovsky-like, I spend no time wondering if the next one is going to be like that. He's his own little leadership committee, he just goes in and gives us so many consistent looks that look like tonight, I don't spend any time thinking about goaltending, thank God. I’ll just screw it up.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Bobrovsky, Panthers shut down Maple Leafs in Game 4 to even series at 2 games apiece [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/bobrovsky-panthers-shut-down-maple-leafs-in-game-4-to-even-series-at-2-games-apiece] Matthew Tkachuk 'feeling physically great' after missing most of season's second half with injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/matthew-tkachuk-feeling-physically-great-after-missing-most-of-seasons-second-half-with-injury] Roberto Luongo selected to NHL Quarter-Century Team [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/roberto-luongo-selected-to-nhl-quarter-century-team] Gritty Panthers set to host Game 4 against Toronto, looking to even series [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/gritty-panthers-set-to-host-game-4-against-toronto-looking-to-even-series] 'I was shocked': Evan Rodrigues discusses reaction to embellishment call in Game 2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/i-was-shocked-evan-rodrigues-discusses-reaction-to-embellishment-call-in-game-2]
