Up 2-0 in series, resilient Maple Leafs still seek improvement heading into Game 3
'It has been a good test for our group that we've been able to stick together and execute.'
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Two wins and no satisfaction.
We would expect nothing less from the Maple Leafs as they hold a 2-0 series lead against the Florida Panthers, with a great opportunity to strengthen their grip in the best-of-seven in Game 3 on Friday night in Sunrise.
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Up 2-0 in series, resilient Maple Leafs still seek improvement heading into Game 3 Back to video
The Leafs have been resilient through the first two games against the defending Stanley Cup champions, they’ve been opportunistic on offence and they’ve been getting timely saves.
Still, when coach Craig Berube reviews game tape, some areas of required improvement pop off his computer screen.
The Panthers’ forecheck can drive the club on offence and, though the Leafs have weathered it, Berube wants to see a step up in his team’s ability to combat the hard-driving Panthers with the series switching to Amerant Bank Arena.
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“It starts in the offensive zone for me,” Berube said on Thursday at the Ford Performance Centre before the Leafs got on their charter to fly south. “We have to do a better job of creating more O-zone time.
“What’s happening is we’re getting beat up the ice a little bit too much from our offensive zone. They’re jumping by us and getting up the ice.
“I’d like to see us make sure we get above people a little bit quicker and also create a little bit more O-zone time against them and tire them out a little bit in their end.”
Berube, who gave his players a day off from the ice on Thursday, noted that the responsibility falls on all four lines. And once the Panthers do create pressure in the offensive zone, the Leafs’ defencemen are aware of buckling down with their tasks.
At a glance, the offensive-zone numbers favour the Panthers. In 92 minutes 16 seconds of five-on-five play, they’ve registered 123 attempts to the Leafs’ 66. It’s a lot closer in shots on goal, though, with Florida holding a 45-39 edge.
What matters most are the numbers on the scoreboard: The Leafs have scored eight goals at five-on-five while the Panthers have scored four.
“They’re coming hard, they’re playing with a lot of speed,” Morgan Rielly said. “They’re physical and that’s an area of their game that we knew that they were going to focus on.
“The net fronts are important. For the D, that’s not letting people behind you or underneath you at the net. There’s always room for improvement when it comes to breakouts.
“We want to be able to exit with control and make plays that way. It’s challenging when they’re in on the forecheck. But I think that’s an area that our group, and our D corps specifically, can continue to build on.”
What’s not in question is the Leafs’ continued resolve.
Four minutes after Brad Marchand put the Panthers up 2-1 early in the second period of Game 2, William Nylander tied the game.
And if the Panthers figured they regained something resembling momentum when Anton Lundell tied the game 3-3 at 5:33 of the third, new dad Mitch Marner quashed that when he scored the eventual winner 17 seconds later.
When it’s said that what happened in the regular season doesn’t matter once the playoffs start, that’s not completely true.
The Leafs were tied for second in the National Hockey League with 22 one-goal wins, one shy of the Edmonton Oilers’ 23.
In the 2025 post-season, of the Leafs’ six victories, four have been by one goal. That was the most before the two playoff games on Thursday night.
As Toronto goes about trying to make a greater stand against the Panthers forecheck and clean up its overall game, it doesn’t have any concern in emerging successfully when the margin is thin.
Look at what happened when Panthers coach Paul Maurice pulled Sergei Bobrovsky with just under three minutes left in Game 2. Needing a goal to tie, Florida didn’t get a shot on Leafs netminder Joseph Woll — six attempts missed the net and another was blocked by Scott Laughton.
“If we had it our way, you’d be up by a couple every night and not have to worry about it,” Rielly said. “Over the course of the season, when you’re in these close games, you just become more comfortable and you have a better understanding for playing within structure and doing what you need to do.
“We’re playing against a team that’s also very comfortable in that position. I would expect the games to be close and competitive moving forward.
“You’re happy to be up in the third, but it’s nerve-wracking and challenging. It has been a good test for our group that we’ve been able to stick together and execute.”
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