May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett (9) shoots at Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) as defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) defends during the third period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8de9ef43-654a-4f29-be0d-1e35a58deb8f.jpeg] May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett (9) shoots at Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) as defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) defends during the third period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) A long layoff between the first and second round was apparently not the best thing for the Florida Panthers. Florida opened their second round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, falling behind early and often, ultimately falling by a 5-4 final score. It was a night that felt very uncharacteristic for the Panthers. Sure, they spent much of the night coming from behind, but that doesn't usually stop them from playing 'Panthers hockey' the way that it did in Game 1. Generally, Florida is a team that bounces back quickly from a game like that. We'll see if that's the case this time as well. Let's get to Monday's takeaways: OPPOSITE OF DESIRED START Florida has done well during their recent postseason history to start games strongly, but obviously it's not something that can be counted on every game. On nights where they fall behind or things don't go right, the Panthers pride themselves on their ability to stick with the program and not come out of their game. That didn't happen the way it normally does on Monday night in Toronto. The Maple Leafs scored a goal on the game's first shift and that seemed to startle the Panthers a bit. It took a while, until the second period in fact, before Florida began to resemble the team we've grown accustomed to seeing over the past few years. "It was the perfect storm of that's not the way you want to start, when everybody's got lots of energy and jump, but there's some tension to it, always at the start," said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. "So when you're behind one, and that was our first period, we just we didn't look like ourselves." LEAFS BROUGHT IT Now all that being said about the start, credit is due to Toronto. The Maple Leafs came out charging and really took it do the defending Stanley Cup Champions for much of Game 1. How Florida responds will be the main thing to watch in the early stages of Wednesday's Game 2. "They had the home count jump," said Maurice. "They were humping it pretty good and we were a little late on just about everything that we did. That's about it. They were good. They were good on the start." PK PERFECTION There was plenty of discussion during Florida's opening round series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning about the Panthers' penalty kill. Florida shut down the Lightning's high-end power play, holding them to just 2-for-18 during the series while on the man advantage. Considering the Bolts held the league's fifth-best power play during the regular season, it was quite notable to see what Florida was able to do. Now they've appeared to pick up right where they left off, going a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill against Toronto during Game 1. It was nice, on a night where the Panthers struggled to get to their usual game, that Florida's PK did not skip a beat and continues to be a major strength of the squad. "It's such a big part of our game, and you know you're going to need to take some confidence out of out of a loss," Maurice said. "That would be the piece to our game that looked like we're supposed to look." LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Sam Bennett speaks about hit on Anthony Stolarz, no supplemental discipline expected [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-bennett-speaks-about-hit-on-anthony-stolarz-no-supplemental-discipline-expected] Panthers Sign Promising Prospect To Entry-Level Deal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-sign-promising-prospect-to-entry-level-deal] Panthers Red-Hot Forward Is Hitting New Level This Playoffs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-red-hot-forward-is-hitting-new-level-this-playoffs] Report: Stolarz hospitalized, Leafs' coach feels Bennett 'elbow to the head' was 'clear as day' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/report-stolarz-hospitalized-leafs-coach-feels-bennett-elbow-to-the-head-was-clear-as-day] Comeback effort falls short as Panthers struggle early in Game 1 loss to Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/comeback-effort-falls-short-as-panthers-struggle-early-in-game-1-loss-to-toronto]
