Panthers Leaving Toronto with a Big W; NHL Coaching Jobs Filled

The Florida Panthers needed to flip the script in what had been a ‘homer’ series in Toronto on Wednesday.

All they did was flip this series on its ear.

The Panthers came out and, as Nuke LaLoosh tried to do in Bull Durham, announced their presence with authority.

Florida only had a 1-0 lead on a goal from Aaron Ekblad after the first period but, like in Game 4, were putting the Leafs in their place.

The Panthers then scored three in the second after Sergei Bobrovsky (31 saves) made a couple of big stops and that, for the most part, was that.

Florida left the arena with a 6-1 win, Nick Robertson scoring with 1:06 left to do little other than keep Bobrovsky from getting his second straight shutout.

The two teams will now head south later today with Game 6 in Sunrise on Friday night.

Should be a doozy.

The Panthers have a chance to move on to the Eastern Conference finals for a third straight year with a win; Toronto gets right back in this thing if it pulls one out.

Early Thursday morning, the NHL announced Game 6 would be an 8 p.m. start what with that being the only game going on after the Edmonton Oilers ended Vegas’ season early.

FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN

• Are the Maple Leafs broken? After Wednesday night, it certainly looked like it. But they can change that dynamic in a hurry.
• Florida came to play in a pivotal game and the Leafs had no response.
• The Panthers were on the Leafs like flies on a rib roast Wednesday night. Another dominate win from the defending Cup champs.
• Paul Maurice says he doesn’t believe in momentum, but a lot of us do. With three straight wins, his team has it.
• The Panthers were without Evan Rodrigues on Wednesday but, hey, Jesper Boqvist seemed to do OK.
• Do the Leafs have a chance at a comeback?
• Doug Cifu, alternate governor and minority stakeholder in the Panthers, apologized after being suspended by the NHL on Monday for what the league deemed inappropriate comments on Twitter following Florida’s Game 4 win.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to watch video interviews with the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. We had Maurice, Sasha Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Ekblad, Jesper Boqvist, Sam Reinhart, Mikkola, and Sergei Bobrovsky on Wednesday. More from Toronto today.

NHL LINKS / NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

• The Edmonton Oilers move on, get a 1-0 OT win in Vegas.
• The Vegas Golden Knights did this to themselves, now they have to live with it.
• The Philadelphia Flyers get their guy with Rick Tocchet returning to the City of Brotherly Shove.
• The Canucks replaced Tocchet with former Colorado Avalanche great Adam Foote.
• No news in the Chicago Blackhawks coaching search doesn’t mean that’s bad news.
• Ken Holland is the new King of Los Angeles.
• Why didn’t Mikael Granlund work with the Pittsburgh Penguins?
• The Montreal Canadiens are ahead of the game in their rebuild. What to do with some of their free agents.
• The New York Islanders offer some optimism.

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: GAME 6

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Panthers Lead Best-of-7 Series 3-2

• When: Friday, 8 
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV
• National Streaming: MAX
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule — Game 1: @Toronto 5, Florida 4; Game 2: @Toronto 4, Panthers 3; Game 3: @Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT); Game 4: @Florida 2, Toronto 0; Game 5: Panthers 6, Leafs 1; Game 6: Friday @Florida 8 (TNT/truTV); Game 7*: Sunday May 18 @Toronto TBA (TNT/truTV).
• How They Got Here: Toronto d. Ottawa 4-2; Florida d. Tampa Bay 4-1
• All-time Postseason: Panthers d. Toronto 4-1 (2023 ECS)