There will be a winner-takes-all Game 7 played on Sunday, May 18, between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs managed to stave off elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs, beating the Panthers by a 2-0 final score thanks to goals from Auston Matthews (his first of the series) and Max Pacioretty, along with Joseph Woll’s first shutout of the postseason.
The Maple Leafs suddenly have the momentum on their side, as their plane ride back to Toronto will be far happier than it would have been had they ultimately fallen short on Friday, May 16.
Is Panthers Coach Paul Maurice Defending the Maple Leafs?
The Panthers beat the Maple Leafs considerably in Game 5, a 6-1 final score that could be categorized by most as utter domination on Florida’s part and a complete meltdown on Toronto’s part.
But Panthers coach Paul Maurice is singing a different tune and even appeared to come to Toronto’s defense in the immediate aftermath of their Game 6 defeat on Friday.
“Not nearly as much [changed for Toronto from Game 5 to Game 6] as everybody in this room is gonna write,” Maurice said. “They worked hard. They played hard tonight. But I thought that the last game — they got killed for that last game, [and] they didn’t deserve to, in my opinion.”
“We had four knucklers go in,” Maurice explained. “[Game 5] was a pretty tight game. It didn’t feel like that on the scoreboard, but when you watch the game and you look at the analytics, the 6-1 game was the second-tightest game of the series. So, this one will look a lot like that. Two pretty good offensive teams, there really isn’t a whole lot to be had out there.”
Woll, the Maple Leafs’ goaltender who has been between the pipes since Anthony Stolarz was hurt in Game 1, pitched his first playoff shutout by turning aside everything that Florida threw his way.
They didn’t make it hard on him in the opening 20 minutes of play, registering only a pair of shots in what was ultimately a mostly defensive slugfest.
“They played hard, we played hard [in Game 6],” Maurice said. “It was tight. We probably had four go in last game that I’m not sure you’re counting on that happening on a regular basis, or even every 10-20 games. We had a couple go off sticks. So, when you get into a 0-0 game, [it’s] just gonna be tight.”
Game 7 between the Panthers and Maple Leafs will get underway Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
