Maple Leafs go down quietly in Game 7 as Panthers advance to Eastern Conference final

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 18, 2025 1:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

The Florida Panthers are disconnected to different Eastern Conference final.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are erstwhile again near to prime up the pieces.

Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand had a extremity and 2 assists each arsenic Florida throttled Toronto 6-1 successful a ascendant effort to instrumentality Game 7 and triumph the teams' second-round playoff bid Sunday.

Seth Jones, with a extremity and an assist, Anton Lundell, Jonah Gadjovich and Sam Reinhart besides scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Aleksander Barkov besides had 2 assists.

Florida volition play the Carolina Hurricanes for a spot successful different rubric series. Game 1 goes Tuesday successful Raleigh, N.C.

Max Domi replied for Toronto, which present heads into an uncertain off-season.

The Leafs led the Atlantic Division matchup 2-0 connected the backmost of consecutive location victories earlier the Panthers won 3 consecutive to spell up 3-2, including a 6-1 whitewash successful Game 5 that looked a batch similar Sunday.

The Leafs, who person won conscionable 2 bid successful 11 tries crossed the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era, present pivot to a perchance turbulent summer. Marner is acceptable to go an unrestricted escaped cause July 1, portion John Tavares is besides connected an expiring deal.

Team president Brendan Shanahan — the unwavering protagonist of the franchise's halfway of talented forwards led by Matthews, Marner, Tavares and William Nylander — is besides without a declaration beyond this season.

Toronto is present 0-7 successful Game 7s, and 0-6 with Marner and Matthews dating backmost to 2018, successful the NHL's wage headdress era.