5 key factors in second-round series between Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers
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Use the adjectives you want — the Maple Leafs' opponent in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs will present a much larger challenge than what the Ottawa Senators provided.
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That would be the defending Cup champion Florida Panthers, who many figured would have had a slog against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Instead, the Panthers vanquished their cross-state rivals in five games.
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We take a look at five potential factors in the best-of-seven series between the Leafs — who had a full day off on Friday — and Panthers.
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DEPTH IN EXPERIENCE
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Three former Panthers who have a Cup ring tucked away at home — goalie Anthony Stolarz, defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and winger Steven Lorentz — each made a varying degree of contribution in the Leafs' success in 2024-25.
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That knowledge of enduring the hardships of the post-season is crucial. It doesn't come close, though, to what the Panthers have in returning players after winning the Cup last spring.
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Of the Panthers who were in the lineup to eliminate the Lightning in Game 5 on Monday, no less than 12 saw the ice in Game 7 of the final last June when Florida beat the Edmonton Oilers. That would have been 13 had defenceman Aaron Ekblad not been suspended for the finale against Tampa — a penalty that will carry through Game 1 against the Leafs.
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And consider that among the players added by the Panthers is forward Brad Marchand, who won the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins and has played in 162 playoff games in the National Hockey League.
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The Leafs had the advantage in healed playoff scars against Ottawa. In this series, that has been completely flipped. The Panthers' experience in winning a Cup after losing in the final in 2023 to Vegas beats winning two first rounds in three years, as the Leafs have done.
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The importance of goaltending and special teams get lumped together before every playoff series and with good reason: Any lack in either and you're likely going home for the summer.
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Stolarz had an edge in high-danger save percentage at five-on-five with a mark of .862 against the Sens, while Bobrovsky posted an .800 mark versus the Lightning.
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