03-05-2025
Panthers and Maple Leafs Fire Loaded Messages Before Second-Round Series
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers will meet again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, now with home-ice advantage flipped and several familiar faces in new jerseys.
Toronto advanced after a 4-2 series win over the Ottawa Senators, while the Panthers eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Game 1 is set for Monday night in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET.
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Leafs head coach Craig Berube acknowledged the challenge ahead as his team prepares to face the defending champions.
'They're obviously the Stanley Cup Champs, so they're a very good team,' Berube said. 'They've got a lot of good pieces, they're hard to play against. You know, I could keep going on and on, but it's not the time right now.'
Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) fights with Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi (11) during a game at Scotiabank Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, who once coached the Leafs from 2006 to 2008, praised Toronto's high-end talent during a radio interview on "The Joe Rose Show" on Friday.
'They've got four or five of these world-class guys that [their] hands aren't like anybody else's,' Maurice said. 'So there's a skill level that these guys possess that they're just dangerous all the time.'
Although he praised his rival, Maurice also spoke broadly about the level of competition remaining in the playoffs, making it clear there's no easy opponent left in contention.
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'You're going to get down to the top eight teams in the NHL," Maurice said. "I don't think there's a Cinderella story left here. These are all elite teams. They've all got guys that can score, can skate, can battle.
'So it will be a very, very hard-fought, tight series.'
Florida won three of four regular-season meetings between Panthers and Leafs this campaign, and defeated the Leafs in five games during their 2023 second-round matchup.
The Panthers have won five straight playoff series and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two years, winning it last season.
Toronto, meanwhile, advanced past the first round for only the second time in 20 years following a trip to the conference semifinals in 2004.
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