Panthers take Game 1 from Leafs
Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves, Matthew Tkachuk had three assists, and the Florida Panthers survived a squandered two-goal lead to defeat the Maple Leafs, 4-2, on Tuesday night in Toronto in the opening game of their secondround playoff series.
Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist and Carter Verhaeghe and Nick Cousins also scored for Florida. Aleksander Barkov had two assists.
Matthew Knies had his first NHL goal and Michael Bunting also scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov stopped 24 shots.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday.
Tied at 2 late in the second period with the Maple Leafs pushing, the Panthers silenced the towelwaving crowd at Scotiabank Arena.
Verhaeghe, who scored the dramatic winner in Game 7 against Boston on Sunday, took a pass from Anthony Duclair and gave Florida the lead for good when he beat Samsonov on a breakaway at 17:47 for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Toronto had a couple opportunities to tie it in the third, but never really threatened Bobrovsky before Montour blasted a one-timer on a delayed penalty at 12:24.
Bobrovsky then denied William Nylander on a terrific toe stop with just over a minute left on Toronto’s best chance to close within one.
Rested and ready
The Hurricanes pushed through a first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs with enough time to let their injury-hit lineup recharge before facing their next opponent.
The mental break was just as important, too, before taking on a Devils team less than 48 hours removed from a Game 7 win to advance.
“We’ve had time to kind of slow down and take a breath,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “Sometimes that gets you on your heels a little bit, but I think overall, mentally, it was needed.”
The Hurricanes closed out the Islanders in a six-game series on Friday night. They host Game 1 of the second-round series on Wednesday night, with the Devils having played twice to eliminate the Rangers since the Hurricanes last took the ice, including Monday night’s 4-0 win.
Marquee matchup
Because the NHL doesn’t use a strict seeding system for the playoffs, the Western Conference finals have come a round early.
And with teams such as Boston, Colorado, and the New York Rangers already eliminated, Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers-Vegas Golden Knights series was moved back a day to Saturday because it is the marquee second-round matchup.
The series, which opens Wednesday in Las Vegas, features an Edmonton team with three 100point scorers led by a household name in Connor McDavid against a Vegas team that posted the West’s top record.
The winner plays in the actual conference finals against Dallas or Seattle.
The Knights, who edged out the Oilers by 2 points for the top spot in the conference, have some star power in Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, but Vegas uses a much more balanced approached.