Maple Leafs and Panthers Know There’s Nothing Like Game 7

Ask any fan. Ask any player. Ask any coach. There is nothing in sports like a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup series and we get that ultimate closeout game tonight when the Florida Panthers visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

If you talk to players, the word “fun” usually comes up.

This is what youngsters dream about from the moment they lace up a pair of skates.

As Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov said before last year’s Stanley Cup finale, kids don’t dream of being the hero of a Game 5.

Game 7 is where legends are made.

“At the end of the day, we grow up dreaming of Game 7s,” Aaron Ekblad said Saturday morning. “No bigger than the Game 7 where Sam [Reinhart] scored that goal. Yes, we feel the pressure obviously, but the motivation and the pride that you have in coming to the rink excited to play is second to none.

“It’s a full body-tingling experience when you get onto the ice for the first time and, home or away, the crowd’s going absolutely bananas and you feed off of that energy.”

Both the Panthers and the Maple Leafs have had their fun recently with the seventh game of a series.

Florida won their Stanley Cup last season with a hard-fought Game 7 victory over Edmonton — with Reinhart’s second-period goal holding up as the game winner.

A year earlier, the Panthers upset the Bruins with an amazing come from behind overtime Game 7 win in Boston.

The Leafs recent experience has not been as successful.

Boston eliminated them last season in the first round with an overtime Game 7 win.

Toronto coach Craig Berube has his own Game 7 memories. He coached the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and led them to a Game 7 victory over Boston in the Stanley Cup Finals.

After the Leafs beat the Panthers 2-0 on Friday to send the series back to Canada for a Game 7, Berube spoke about his experiences.

Of note, Florida’s Brad Marchand is 7-5 in Game 7s; he is 4-0 against the Maple Leafs (2013, 2018, 2019, 2024) in such games — but 0-1 against Berube and the Blues.

“They’re fun. I think it means a lot to everybody,’’ Berube said. “I don’t know how players think nowadays, but when I was growing up, the people I know always dream about a Game 7.

“They’re big games, obviously. A lot on the line. … We’ve got to come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did tonight.”

Said Max Pacioretty: “It’s a lot of fun. I can’t wait. … We’re going to war.”

Joseph Woll, who is emerging as a hero for Toronto in relief of Anthony Stolarz, is looking forward to his first Game 7.

Last year, he was injured late in Game 6 in a winning effort against Boston and never got to suit up for Game 7.

“It sucked not being able to play last year, for sure,’’ Woll said. “I think this is just a pretty special opportunity for our team. I think we feel good going in and we know our process and I’m just going to take that through.”

Paul Maurice is 5-0 in Game 7s throughout his career including 2-0 with the Panthers.

“Personally, I enjoy them,’’ Maurice said. “As you get older, you enjoy the more unusual events of your life. I think you’re more aware of them. So, Game 7 is cool.”

He added that you don’t coach in anticipation of a Game 7, so the strategy in a deciding game is little different than the strategy getting to that point.

“You want to win in four, 100 percent,” he said. “But the Game 7s you’ll remember. There are not a lot of them. The further into the playoffs, the more intense they are. But there’s a freedom in Game 7 that’s not anywhere else.

“On both teams you’ve got guys dealing with stuff – physical stuff – and they will say ‘I’ve just got to play one more game’.”

Between now and game time you will hear every cliché in the book associated with a Game 7: Desperation, do-or-die, no tomorrow, and leave it all on the ice.

And that is all true.

There is no tomorrow if you lose Game 7.

One team will be playing in the Eastern Conference final come Tuesday night.

The other will be packing up their gear for the summer.

This is where legends are made. The rest go golfing.

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: GAME 7

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 

Best-of-7 Series tied 3-3

• When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
• 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: Florida 6, @Toronto 1; Game 6: Toronto 2, @Florida 0; Game 7: Sunday @Toronto 7:30 (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)
• Up Next: Winner vs. Carolina Hurricanes (M2), 2025 Eastern Conference final