Panthers wallop listless Leafs 6-1 in Game 5 to take 3-2 series lead

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 14, 2025 10:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The Maple Leafs person gone from the driver's spot to the brink of elimination.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves arsenic the Florida Panthers dismantled Toronto 6-1 to instrumentality a 3-2 pb successful the teams' second-round playoff bid Wednesday

Jesper Boqvist, with a extremity and an assistance aft sitting the past 2 games arsenic a steadfast scratch, Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola, A.J. Greer and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers.

Sam Reinhart and Nate Schmidt added 2 assists each for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Ekblad added an assistance for a two-point night.

Bobrovsky's shutout streak of 143 minutes 25 seconds dating backmost to the 3rd play of Game 3 was breached precocious successful regulation, arsenic Nick Robertson got the consolation extremity for Toronto. 

Joseph Woll allowed 5 goals connected 25 shots earlier getting the hook successful different disfigured show crossed the committee from the listless Leafs, who led the Atlantic Division matchup 2-0 earlier 3 consecutive losses that person pushed them to the edge. Matt Murray finished successful alleviation with six saves.

Game 6 volition beryllium played Friday nighttime astatine Amerant Bank Arena successful Sunrise, Fla. Game 7, if necessary, would beryllium backmost astatine Scotiabank Arena connected Sunday.

The Panthers opened the scoring successful a ascendant opening play wherever they held a decided edge.

Florida, which blanked Toronto 2-0 successful Game 4 astatine home, recovered a mode past Woll astatine 14:38 erstwhile the Leafs mislaid a drawstring of puck battles earlier Ekblad fired his 2nd extremity of the playoffs upstairs.

The Leafs netminder held the fort up of that breakthrough earlier the location broadside got its archetypal accidental connected a William Nylander breakaway that Bobrovsky denied with his glove. Simon Benoit past fired conscionable wide disconnected the rush.

Toronto guardant Scott Laughton deed the station a infinitesimal into the second, but it was each downhill from there.

Kulikov made it 2-0 astatine 6:08 erstwhile his constituent changeable went disconnected Laughton's instrumentality and bushed Woll for his first.

Leafs prima winger Mitch Marner — a pending unrestricted escaped cause July 1 — past flung a hopeful walk up the mediate that Florida easy picked disconnected successful the neutral zone.

Reinhart rapidly turned the different mode and fed Boqvist, who was successful the lineup for the injured Evan Rodrigues. Boqvist then tapped location his archetypal extremity since Jan. 25 aft Marner didn't prime up the guardant connected the unreserved astatine 10:05.

Mikkola made it 4-0 wrong a stunned Scotiabank Arena astatine 14:01 erstwhile helium blasted his archetypal of the playoffs connected a changeable that Woll volition privation back.

Toronto caput manager Craig Berube put his 4th enactment retired to commencement the 3rd play — a wide connection to the team's halfway of prima forwards led by Marner, Nylander, Auston Matthews and John Tavares.

The Leafs got a powerfulness play, but different disjointed effort ne'er threatened Bobrovsky.

Matthew Tkachuk deed the station connected a Panthers' antheral vantage astatine the different extremity earlier Greer made it 5-0 with his archetypal astatine 6:23. At that point, a fig of fans headed to the exits — and 1 tossed a Matthews jersey onto the ice.

Murray, who past made a playoff quality successful 2020 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, took implicit from determination and allowed Florida's sixth to Bennett connected a powerfulness play astatine 9:09.

The battered and bruised Leafs, who got connected the committee with 66 seconds near successful regularisation erstwhile Robertson yet bushed Bobrovsky, volition present get connected a level Thursday with their backs against the wall.

Lineup decisions

Toronto made 2 changes up front, with Robertson and centre David Kampf drafting in. Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg were scratched.

Boqvist subbed successful for Rodrigues aft helium took a large deed successful Game 4 — the play was whistled for interference — from Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Blind side

Aleksander Barkov, Florida's skipper and fig one centre, was crushed from down into the boards by Max Domi successful the dying seconds of Game 4.

He was asked for his position connected the deed Wednesday greeting that resulted successful a melee astatine the last buzzer and a $5,000 US good for the Leafs forward.

"I didn't spot it," Barkov said with a smile. "It's playoff hockey, truthful things happen."