LEAFS NOTES: Toronto in giant-killer mode against Stanley Cup champion Panthers

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Looks like local product Sam Bennett has put his own twist on the ‘elbows up’ campaign.

But where the Florida Panthers usually draw strength when their most belligerent players start pushing the envelope, Monday’s Game 1 didn’t see the Maple Leafs fold. They gave it back to the Stanley Cup champions in measured responses, not going overboard when Bennett knocked goalie Anthony Stolarz out of the game, while keeping a bit of dark arts up their sweater sleeves, too.

Though Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk kept it up to the final horn, sticking a knee out on Mitch Marner, then trying to pester him further, one Leaf had knocked Evan Rodrigues on his rump en route to the bench during a stoppage in play with the refs distracted.

“We knew coming into this game, they’d be physical, chippy, with little things between the whistles,” said Toronto winger Matthew Knies. “I think we stayed composed through the whole game, especially the last few minutes.

“We made the right plays and didn’t give in to their crap.”

Toronto did take the night’s first penalty, Max Domi slightly cross checking Brad Marchand, with the officials quick to crack down. After the Leafs stumbled into a too-many-men call that Seth Jones converted,Tkachuk chopped at a Leaf on his way to the goal celebration and shouted something to try and unnerve Stolarz.

But Toronto responded with goals — Morgan Rielly 19 seconds after Jones and Chris Tanev from long range — then hits from their big forwards, Knies and Max Pacioretty. Knies rocked Jones and it was Bennett and Niko Mikkola taking third period minors, Mikkola for mugging Calle Jarnkrok.

Captain Aleksander Barkov took solace in their strong third period comeback attempt, but admitted “they came out a little better than us and got the lead they needed.”

SPLITTING THE ‘W’

While it’s common to see two goalies on a game sheet when a team loses, Monday was the first time since 1977 that two Toronto netminders were involved in a playoff victory. Mike Palmateer and Wayne Thomas were both in a 1977 decision over the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2) according to NHL Stats, while Bernie Parent and Jacques Plante shared a 4-1 win against the New York Rangers in ’71.

The only other came in the Leafs’ last Cup year of 1967, Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk in a 4-2 semi-final win against Chicago. Monday’s was the first of the four wins at home.

“He’s a big man, hopefully he’s OK,” Barkov said of former Panther teammate Stolarz. “I know he’s played well for them all year.”

BIG GAME HUNTING

Never is the target on the backs of the Cup champions bigger than one or two rounds into playoffs.

“They’re riding that high, they know how to go through the playoff atmosphere all the way,” Leaf defenceman Brandon Carlo said Monday morning. “You obviously want to be in that position as well, so you want to take down each great team along the way.

“We’re going to enjoy that challenge, go head-on. You do that with a fearless mentality, the best way to approach it.”

Yet Tkachuk didn’t think the Panthers should be considered favourites.

“We’re on the road and they had a better (regular season) than we did,” he said. “We’ll relish that role.”

Coach Paul Maurice’s team has made it past one round in defence of their title, a nasty five-game series against the state-rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

“The way the playoffs are structured, these are all division rivals and we have a history with each other now,” Maurice said. “There’s no Cinderella stories in the last eight teams that are left. They’re all good teams and they all share consistency. The most consistent team is the easiest to pre-scout.”

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HOME STRETCH

Three of the four pucks in the Panthers’ playoff trophy case they brought to Toronto for their room had Lightning logos on them, a sign of how well they play on the road.

“As you move on in playoffs, it’s nice to get your team together with far fewer distractions,” Maurice told Florida media earlier this week of opening at Scotiabank Arena. “The Toronto market changes that a bit, there’s so much exposure. The regular season road team bonding trips, they’re almost contrived, but this isn’t. Everybody is singularly focused, you spend more time together, it keeps their mind right.

“You have your agenda, team meals on certain nights. If you have a close group — I find this natural and truthful — they have to like each other to be around each other. So, if they hang out together, that’s great.”

LATE, LATE SHOW

Everyone loves the drama of long overtime, but the Leafs had to balance those two weekend marathons with getting some shut eye.

Tanev had a brief chat with brother Brandon, who absorbed a hard shot to help the Jets beat St. Louis in double OT after Winnipeg tied it with seconds to go in regulation. He was in discomfort on the Jets’ bench.

“A crazy, wild game,” Chris said, adding “I fell asleep in overtime. Jake McCabe told me my brother blocked one at the end. A huge win when they obviously didn’t look great at the start (down 2-0). They scratched and clawed and I give them a lot of credit.”

LOOSE LEAFS

The Leafs have their own playoff puck collection rack, too, with four so far and room for 16 … Noting that Leaf mania is picking up around town after the Ottawa series, former Leaf captain Wendel Clark told a great story on CITY-TV’s Breakfast Television last week, As fans and well-wishers swarmed the Church Street entrance of the Gardens in 1993 as the Leafs went longer in playoffs, Clark said Doug Gilmour would escape by wearing his own team sweater, pulling up his hoodie and pretending to be a fan … Marner said he and wife Stephanie had long considered the name Miles for their new son born on Sunday morning. There’s also a past Leaf connection to it, as the great defenceman Tim Horton was christened Miles Gilbert, after both his grandfathers, though his mother called him by the name she preferred … Maurice recalled forward Darren Langdon having triplets in the early 2000s when he coached him in Carolina, with an 18-month-old already in his fold. He recalled Langdon would come to the rink early just to get some sleep … In town for Monday’s game was former Leaf forward P.A. Parenteau, the club’s leading goal scorer in 2015-16 with 20, just before Auston Matthews arrived. He is a former teammate of John Tavares on Long Island and played an AHL year in Moncton, a friend to New Brunswick-born Leaf Philippe Myers … Nik Borschevsky, the Leafs 1993 overtime hero against Detroit, made a rare appearance at a game, introduced with a highlight package before he waved one of the ‘Bring The Passion’ rally towels for the crowd.

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