Maple Leafs Fall Short In South Florida As 2-0 Series Lead Disappears

After dropping two consecutive playoff games in South Florida, the Toronto Maple Leafs are threatening to collapse once again. They looked strong, determined, seasoned and clutch in winning the first two games of the series in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs had the opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series in Game 3, and the Leafs built a 3-1 lead early in the second period. However, they needed a Morgan Rielly goal midway through the third period to push the game to overtime, and that’s when disaster struck.

Long-time nemesis Brad Marchand scored the winner for the Panthers on a twisted wrister that banked off Rielly before zipping past goalie Joseph Woll. That’s the same Marchand that has tormented the Maple Leafs in four previous series with the Boston Bruins.

The Panthers’ newest hero has fit in brilliantly with a group that he battled feverishly in consecutive losing playoff series. Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe explained what Marchand brings to the team.

“He brings so much life to our team,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s so energetic. And obviously you see what he does on the ice. He’s such a great player and has been around for so long. He’s a player, a performer, and he scores big goals at big moments. He’s done it all, won a Stanley Cup. He brings so much life and energy to our group.”

While a bad bounce – literally – cost the Leafs in Game 3, they were outplayed badly in Game 4. The final score of 2-0 does not tell the story. Woll was sensational in net for the Leafs, and he kept Toronto within reach throughout. If Woll had been good, average or worse in the opening 20 minutes, the Leafs could have found themselves trailing by a 4-0.

The Panthers came out charging in Game 4 following their overtime victory while the Leafs were hesitant and mistake-prone. They committed four penalties in the first period and the Panthers took advantage of the last one when Verhaeghe swept a pinpoint pass from Matthew Tkachuk past Woll at the 15:45 mark.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said the early penalties put the team in a hole.

“We don’t need to take those,” Berube said. “Hookings and interference. We’ve got to be better. We’ll be smarter than that. In the end, I really liked our physicality, our compete out there. The guys played hard.”

Auston Matthews is not holding up his end for Leafs

How is this team that featured its Core 4 stars playing such a prominent role in the first two games have fallen into a hole? Start by taking a look at superstar Auston Matthews. He is supposed to be the best goal scorer in the league after notching 69 goals in 2023-24.

However, Matthews fell to 33 goals during the regular season, and he has just two goals in 10 playoff games this year. Both of those goals were in the first-round series against the Ottawa Senators. He has three assists against the Panthers, but Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has rebuffed all of his scoring attempts.

If Matthews is not going to turn things around and regain his scoring touch, it is on William Nylander to dominate the score sheet when the series returns to Toronto Wednesday night.

Nylander is a much more dependable playoff scorer than Matthews and he has shown that he can take advantage of his quickness in the offensive zone. He had a major impact in the first two games played at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Nylander had three goals and four points in those two games.

After the series shifted to Florida, though, the Panthers held him to two assists in Game 3 and was blanked in Game 4. Nevertheless, Nylander is not about to panic about the tied playoff series.

“I mean 2-2, it’s going to be a long series,” Nylander said. “That’s where our mind’s at.”

There is little doubt that Nylander will rise to the occasion in Game 5, but what will Matthews do? If the superstar scorer remains silent, the Maple Leafs will fall short to the Panthers and their season will come to a crashing halt.