Florida Panthers Punch Ticket to Conference Final With Dominant Game 7 Victory
The Florida Panthers played their most complete game of the season with their backs against the wall to clinch their spot in the Eastern Conference final.
TORONTO — The Florida Panthers punched their ticket to their third-straight Eastern Conference final with about as complete of a performance as they could have asked for.
They pounced on the Toronto Maple Leafs and refused to relent in a dominant 6-1 victory in Game 7 to secure the second-round series.
Florida outshot the Maple Leafs 7-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game — not allowing a shot attempt for the first eight minutes — before weathering a late-first period push for Toronto and firing on all cylinders to start the second period.
“Early on, we had a lot of good pressure,” Brad Marchand said. “We were playing tight. With their speed and skill, we had to be above them. We did a good job at reloading, the D were quick at closing when pucks were coming around the wall and they were transitioning very well.”
Seth Jones, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich all scored goals in the first 10 minutes of the middle frame to give the Panthers a comfortable cushion, but they did not sit back on it.
Through two periods, the Panthers led 76-33 in shot attempts after continuously sending wave after wave of pressure on the forecheck and it continued even after Max Domi got the Maple Leafs on the scoresheet 2:07 into the third period.
Eetu Luostarinen deflected a Marchand shot past Joseph Woll 47 seconds later to restore Florida’s lead to three goals and the air was sucked out of the building. Marchand and Sam Reinhart tacked on two more goals late, but it was all but over at that point.
“It’s certainly nice to get a little cushion, but I like how we kept our game right to the end,” Reinhart said. “We didn’t change anything, we were on our toes, our gap is tight and that’s how we have to play.”
Sergei Bobrovsky finished the game with 20 saves on 21 shots — finishing up a stretch where he allowed just four goals in the final four games of the series — to set the Panthers up with a date with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
“It’s a good achievement,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s not easy to do. Toronto gave us a good challenge and it could have gone either way. You never know what could happen. We went to overtime in Game 3. Everything is tight and I’m just proud of my teammates with my teammates and how we handled those moments and I’m excited about what’s coming up.”
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