The Toronto Maple Leafs gave their fans something to cheer about after their 5-4 Game 1 win against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 of the NHL playoffs. Music superstar Justin Bieber, a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, was among those cheering on the team after the game on Monday, May 5. Toronto is looking to advance past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Maple Leafs Superfan Justin Bieber Shares Reaction on Social Media
Bieber, who often posts congratulatory messages on social media highlighting the Maple Leafs’ successes, posted a short video clip with a two-word caption on Instagram celebrating the team’s latest victory.
In the short reel, Bieber was reclining on a couch, watching the end of the game on a giant flat-screen TV. The camera pans to the television, showing the Maple Leafs and Panthers players lined up for postgame handshakes. The pop superstar captioned the video, “1 down @mapleleafs.”
View this post on Instagram.
The singing sensation had also posted an encouraging Instagram message for the Maple Leafs before the puck drop for Monday’s game. “New series starts tonight. This the yearski,” he said. Bieber and the rest of the Maple Leafs faithful hope that their team lifts the Stanley Cup this year after a league-record drought of 56 seasons.
Maple Leafs Hold Off Panthers’ Late Charge
The Maple Leafs held off a resurgent Panthers side on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. William Nylander had two goals in the first period, while Morgan Rielly, Matthew Knies, and Chris Tanev each had a goal for Toronto.
“We came out and got a couple of good scoring chances and were able to capitalize on them, so that was nice for us,” Nylander said after the game. “We just focus on the next game now.”
Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz made eight saves on nine shots for Toronto before leaving the game with an injury at 10:14 of the second period. He was replaced by Joseph Woll, who made 17 saves.
The Leafs were leading 3-1 at the end of the first period and scored the only goal in the second to extend the lead to 4-1. Florida started a surge in the third, scoring three goals in the period to give Toronto a nervous few minutes before the final buzzer.
“It was the perfect storm of that’s not the way you want to start when everyone has lots of energy and jump, but there’s some tension to it always at the start,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said via NHL.com. “So when you’re behind one, that’s our first period. We didn’t look like ourselves. We righted it in the second and had a pretty good push in the third.”
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series will be held at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, May 7.