You could tell it was coming. Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers was never going to fade into the night peacefully.
Fans in Florida were pumped; both teams were on edge, and sanity came off with the final buzzer. A borderline hit, a couple of glares, and some classic Matthew Tkachuk action ensured things didn’t finish with a whistle, but instead with a bang.
Straight in the middle of all of it was Leafs star William Nylander, relaxed and composed, tuning out the noise. When all they did was shove people and swear, he didn’t budge. Now with the series tied two games apiece, everything seems to point towards a hot Game 5 in Florida. Even more exciting, we may not have seen the best of the back-and-forth play between Tkachuk and Nylander.
William Nylander Stays Calm After Matthew Tkachuk’s Game 4 Antics
Those last few seconds of Game 4 became wild. Max Domi of the Leafs took a hit from behind by Aleksander Barkov of the Panthers as the clock wound down. That late hit sparked everything. Players from both teams went in, shoving and jawing, and the benches yelled back and forth.
I think this fell way under the radar last night and should be talked about more, actually. Matt Tkachuk does a throat slash motion while pointing at Bobby McMann, directly in front of a ref.
Kadri did this one time too. He got fined. Meanwhile, this incident has been ignored. pic.twitter.com/GVTwOZ7Cyp
— x – Ashley 🌻 (@smasha23)
True to his style, Tkachuk didn’t waste the moment. He joined the fray right in front of Nandlander. Tkachuk made an elbow gesture, telling him what to expect in Game 5.
Despite Tkachuk’s antics, Nylander didn’t take the bait. The Maple Leafs star talked to the media after the game and didn’t sound rattled or angry.
“He’ll probably do whatever he can do to get a player off their game,” William Nylander. “But yeah, next game’s going to be a fun one.”
His calm demeanor says a lot. Unlike Tkachuk, who loves talking trash and taking things up a notch, Nylander isn’t letting anything get under his skin or hurt his performance. And if the Leafs want to keep control of this series, they’ll need that steady attitude from their leaders.
Toronto came out desperate and with some energy, knowing they can’t afford to put themselves in a 3-1 series deficit. They received great play from their top players, with Nylander finally scoring a goal and Auston Matthews creating chances all night. Toronto’s play also became intense as they fought to gain an edge in a highly competitive game.
Toronto won the first two games of the series, and Florida did not look great in either loss. However, the Panthers showed everybody why they are reigning champions and fought to tie the series at two.
With momentum appearing to be with the Panthers, the series now returns to Florida. Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET. The series is anyone’s to take at this point, and the bad blood from Game 4 might spill over.