By: Rod Pedersen
1 – SEVENTH HEAVEN: They say they are the two best words in sports: “Game Seven”. That’s exactly what’s happening in this thrill-a-minute second round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Florida Panthers & Toronto Maple Leafs. We’re headed to the first Game 7 of Round 2, and has hockey fans in Canada and the USA on the edge of their seats. Let’s dig in …
2 – HOW WE GOT HERE: In case you missed it, the Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead after a pair of home victories to open the series. The play was actually quite even – in fact the Panthers led in a few key categories – but there was no comparison in goaltending play as Sergei Bobrovsky allowed nine goals in those two games compared to Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll who combined to allow seven. Like I said – fairly even – but a goals against average that lofty isn’t Bob’s style. Those of us who’ve watched him play nightly over his Hall of Fame career knew he wasn’t going to have three stinkers in a row. And he didn’t! The Panthers rattled off three straight victories in the series: 5-4 in OT & 2-0 at home and 6-1 at Toronto to grab a 3-2 series lead and had the chance to wrap it up at home this past Friday night in Game 6. But as ESPN College Game Day’s Lee Corso famously says, “Not so fast …”
3 – MEDIA & FAN OUTRAGE: The Canadian media and even ESPN analyst P.K. Subban (who hails from Toronto) were calling for the head of Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan after the embarrassing 6-1 home loss in Game 5. “If they lose this series there has to be a change with leadership there!” Subban huffed, singling out Shanahan. In a famous sign of disgust in Canada, a Leaf fan tossed their jersey onto the ice in the third period of Game 5. I bring this all up because it sets the scene quite well for Friday’s game at Amerant Bank Arena.
4 – FACING ELIMINATION: Were the Maple Leafs and their “Core 4” of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares going to whither up and blow away like leaves do when the chips are down? Or were they going to show in Game 6 what they’re made of? It turned out to be the latter. Auston Matthews scored the winner at 6:20 of the third period on Friday night – his first goal of the series – and Joseph Wall turned in a 22-save shutout as the Leafs won 2-0 to force a Game 7 at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday night (7:30 pm ET, TNT/Sportsnet)
5 – WE LOVE HISTORY: There are a lot of Leaf Lovers who read this column so they’ll like this one: Auston Matthews became just the second Toronto captain in franchise history to score a game-winner while facing elimination. Darryl Sittler was the first, in the 1976 Conference Quarterfinal. It was also Matthews’ second career game-winner in an elimination game which trails only Charlie Conacher (4) and Lanny McDonald (3) in franchise history. And in goal, Joseph Woll’s shutout was the first in an elimination game since Curtis Joseph did it for the Leafs in Game 5 of the 2002 Conference Finals.
6 – CAT SCRATCHES: There’s not nearly as much history for the Florida Panthers in this series other than Brad Marchand becoming the oldest player in franchise history to score a playoff OT winner (36 years of age) in Game 3. … Oh, and the Panthers have never come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a series. They had the chance to reverse that curse in Game 6 but frankly, they didn’t play very well at all. Matthews’ game-winner was one Sergei Bobrovsky would like to have back, they went 0/4 on the powerplay, and generally just didn’t want it as bad as Toronto did. So now they head back to Toronto where, miraculously, the Panthers are favored by 1 goal at Coolbet Canada (sign up today and get a Double Bet Bonus up to $200 with the promo code RP200 at Coolbet.com).
7 – OTHER SERIES: The Carolina Hurricanes are calmly waiting in the Eastern Conference Final after dispatching the Washington Capitals in five games in Round 2. The Cats & Canes last met in the playoffs in 2023 when Florida swept them in the ECF. … Out West, the Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second consecutive season after handling the Vegas Golden Knights in a five-game Round 2 affair. The last time the Oilers achieved this feat was a three-year string from 1990-1992. Of course, Florida and Edmonton met in the Stanley Cup Final last season with the Panthers winning in seven games. … The only other series still going on is also in the West with Dallas leading Winnipeg 3-2 in games heading into Game 6 Saturday night in Texas.
8 – ZIP IT: A Florida NHL fan wrote me this week saying all non-playoff teams should be barred from making announcements while the Stanley Cup Playoffs are ongoing but, nuh uh. That’s never going to happen. I could see a moratorium during the Stanley Cup Final, but even that doesn’t exist. Last week in Sunrise, Commissioner Gary Bettman updated the media on a possible expansion franchise for Atlanta, Collective Bargaining Agreement talks and a few other items. But the real juicy stuff, other than the games, happened around the league …
9 – AROUND THE NHL: The coaching vacancies are dropping off. Anaheim hired Joel Quenneville, Vancouver hired Adam Foote, Philadelphia’s bringing back franchise great Rick Tocchet, the NY Rangers have hired Mike Sullivan. That leaves Seattle, Chicago, Boston and Pittsburgh without coaches. … Meanwhile the Los Angeles Kings have hired Ken Holland as their new General Manager, the former GM of Edmonton and Detroit. There are reports Holland won’t be retaining head coach Jim Hiller, so add another opening there. … Heard this week that the average span of an NHL coaching job is two seasons, which is far shorter than their brethren in the NFL, NBA & MLB. … Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper remains the longest-serving head coach in the NHL (2012). Last week Lightning GM Julien Brisebois confirmed Cooper will return in the role next season, which surprised no one.
10 – DOWN ON THE FARM: Fans of the Cats & Bolts should be keeping a close eye on the Memorial Cup; Canada’s national major junior hockey championship which will be played in Rimouski, Quebec from May 22-June 1. The Medicine Hat Tigers are the rep of the Western Hockey League and are led by Panthers prospect Hunter St. Martin (forward, 6th round pick 2024) and Lightning prospect Harrison Meneghin (goaltender, 7th round pick 2024). The Tigers defeated the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL Final Friday night. The Chiefs are coached by former Lightning assistant coach Brad Lauer.
See you at the rink!
(Rod Pedersen covers the NHL for the South Florida Tribune. He also hosts the award-winning Cats N Bolts Podcast and daily Rod Pedersen Show on Game+TV and YouTube)
