Finally, after five games worth of hitting, tons of chirping, more than a few unnecessary scrums and no shortage of after-the-whistle hijinks, the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs agree on something.
The approach to Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series — one that the Panthers now control — will evidently be the same.
“One shift at a time,” Leafs forward William Nylander said.
“Next shift, next moment,” Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said.
The urgency might seem different, however. Florida plays host to Game 6 against the Maple Leafs on Friday night, the Panthers leading the series 3-2 and on the verge of moving into the NHL’s final four for a third consecutive season. The Panthers have won three straight to flip the series, the most recent — and most convincing — of those wins being Wednesday’s 6-1 victory.
It was an outcome that had even ardent Maple Leafs fans leaving midway through the third period and surely wondering if they had just watched their team on home ice for the final time this season.
“We’ve responded in the past and I expect a response from our team,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “We’ll talk about things and make some adjustments that are needed. But it’s more of a mindset for me going into this Game 6 than anything else. It’s not X’s and O’s.”
The longest-serving members of Toronto’s core — players like Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly — have faced elimination 14 times over the last eight seasons. The Leafs have gone 6-8 in those 14 games. On one hand, the eight losses mean the season always ends in disappointment and with another year tacked onto the drought since the city last won the Stanley Cup in 1967. On the other, the six wins show that it’s been tough to land the knockout blow.
“At the end of the day, the job’s not done,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “And there’s still a lot of work to do to go home and recover and have our best game at home in Game 6.”
The Panthers — who got goals from three defensemen in Wednesday’s win — have gotten goals from 15 different players in the series, compared with only nine goal-scorers for Toronto. It’s been remarkably balanced for Florida on that front; Sam Bennett has three goals, while Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe each have two, and 11 others have scored once.
Nylander has three goals in the series for Toronto, while Matthews is 0 for 20 on shots in the series — and 0 for 28 against Florida this season when tacking on the regular season.
“We’re just focused on one at a time,” Florida’s Sam Reinhart said after Game 5. “We had one job to do (Wednesday). Now it’s about recovering, getting ready for the next one, getting back home and get in front of our fans again.”
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers
When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday, 8 p.m. EDT (TNT/truTV/Max)
Series: Panthers lead, 3-2.
Advantage, Florida. But then again, advantage in this series has meant absolutely nothing.
Case in point: Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the series, and teams that start a best-of-seven series with two home wins have been ultimately successful in that matchup 89% of the time in NHL history.
And now, the pendulum of favorable odds has swung to Florida after its Game 5 romp; when a best-of-seven NHL series is tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has gone on to prevail 79% of the time.
So, it’s 89% one way, 79% the opposite way. Add it up, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice is 100% convinced that this series isn’t over.
“I do not believe in momentum,” Maurice said.
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