Can they match up to preview?
Missing key players, Leafs roll against the Panthers — a likely playoff opponent
As previews go, this one makes you salivate for the movie.
A blockbuster “Oppenheimer” of the playoffs. Should the Maple Leafs line up against the Panthers in a couple of weeks, first round of the post-season. Precluding a complex set of brain-seizing developments, it will be either Florida or Boston — and Lord knows we’ve seen that movie often enough.
It definitely wouldn’t be a pinkhued “Barbie” kind of thing, not with this level of mutual loathing and snarling, knockabout tendencies between Toronto and Florida.
Without Mitch Marner (coming back soon to an arena near you), without Morgan Rielly (inching closer, possibly game-fit by Wednesday’s encounter with the Tampa Bay Lightning), without Timothy Liljegren (thus a continuing mashup on the blueline).
But the cast that was in situ Monday night at Scotiabank Arena laid a 6-4 licking on the Panthers. Well, a two-reel licking: 5-1 lead. Third reel was an adventure: three straight goals by Florida, though none off a half-dozen chaotic scrambles around Ilya Samsonov before Auston Matthews, with his 62nd, said hell with this and cue-balled a 116foot shot into the empty Florida net with 46 seconds remaining.
“interesting for fans,” deadpanned Samsonov, referring to the muscular pushback by the Panthers. “We got some nervous for everybody.”
Tough game against a tough team, and five goals behind the Florida tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz — a considerable achievement against the best defensive team in the NHL.
“Quite a lot of goals,” continued Samsonov, who made 26 saves.
Apart from the endlessly thrilling assault on the franchise annals by Matthews — No. 61 earlier on this evening, a slightly late Easter egg for the fans after burying his 60th on Saturday in Buffalo-cum-Toronto, before the icer — the Leafs displayed moxie, muscle and a soupcon of mayhem in this likely playoff appetizer.
It began, thematically enough, with retaliation by Ryan Reaves on Niko Mikkola, which segued into a penalty against Ryan Lomberg for retaliatory boarding on Jake McCabe. And right there, within the opening three minutes, was established the motif of this game. Although the Leafs power play couldn’t convert any of its three man-advantage shots.
That didn’t happen until a breakaway by Nick Robertson, making a compelling case of late for playoff roster inclusion after drawing some flak for stating his lineup aspirations — which fell flat in this heavily management-oriented domain, especially in the media (or them what passes for media). Robertson was sprung loose on a lead pass from Matthew Knies off a turnover at the Toronto blueline, Robertson managing to maintain a half-stride jump on the pursuing Dmitry Kulikov before faking a shot, then backhand-forehead and around the left pad of Bobrovsky at 13:59.
Matthews, ho-hum, scored No. 61 and counting just 33 seconds later off his own winning faceoff with T.J. Brodie, (deep into enemy territory for a D-man) spotting a juicy target in Matthews, who inexplicably had been left unmolested at the side of the paint by a collapsing defence.
Then it was time for a Samsonov hi-ho moment, as he reached behind on a crease scramble to snap shut his mitt, pressed alongside the post, denying Florida what had appeared a slam-bang goal. Nearly 19,000 spectators’ jaws dropped.
A mere 47 seconds into the second period, an unthreatening point shot by Carter Verhaeghe was deflected past Samsonov. However, Tyler Bertuzzi — on a heater the last two months — restored the twogoal lead from the doorstep with his 19th off a centring pass from Matthews.
The Leafs had smoke coming out of their nostrils in that middle frame: Samsonov on a take-yourbreath-away, point-blank save off a rebound, robbing Anton Lundell, that had the patrons chanting “Sammy! Sammy! Sammy!” Followed by a fourth-line goal on a second poke at the puck by David Kämpf that concluded an inspired shift from Reaves, who well earned the assist after taking his man behind the net and forcing a turnover.
Knies cranked it up to 5-1, sweeping around the net to pop the goal from Pontus Holmberg and — oh, hello — Robertson. It was Knies who, back in the first, also laid down the tenor of the game, taking exception to an uncalled interference infraction by Mikkola.
“I just really didn’t like that hit on Holmberg. I wanted to set the tone for the game. I think it was necessary for me to step in there.”
As for the game, Knies added: “It was physical and fast-paced. It looked a lot like a playoff game, for sure.”
Florida pulled a bit closer on another point shot redirected by Vladimir Tarasenko at 2:12 of the third. Closer still with Leaf-killer Sam Reinhart scoring at 11:58. Then, after Evan Rodrigues rang one off the post, entirely too close when Sam Bennett made it 5-4 at 18:10 before Matthews dialed down the stress.
This up-tempo affair framed a Leafs team just about ready for its playoff closeup, whoever that opponent might be.
But these two teams will take at least one more spring spin in 2024: April 16, down Florida way.