The Florida Panthers kick off their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 5 with Game 1. The Panthers’ goal will be to start the series on the right foot against a very talented Maple Leafs squad.
If the Panthers hope to start this series with a victory, they will need all of their players to be on their A-game, but especially these three.
Bobrovsky was a notable reason why the Panthers knocked out the Lightning in the first round in only five games. The 36-year-old put together a solid series, as he had a 4-1 record, a 2.21 save percentage, a .901 save percentage, and one shutout. If he continues to play like that in Game 1 against Toronto, it will greatly help the Panthers’ chances of winning.
Going up against the Maple Leafs will not be a walk in the park for Bobrovsky, as they have plenty of elite forwards like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares. However, he has shut them down before, and it will be interesting to see if he does again in Game 1.
Reinhart has been excellent for the Panthers this post-season thus far. He currently has two goals and leads the team with six points in five games. This includes posting three points in his two games alone. With this, the 29-year-old forward will look to stay hot in Game 1 against the Maple Leafs from here.
When Reinhart’s offense is going, the Panthers are an incredibly challenging team to beat. It will be interesting to see if he can put up another big performance in an important Game 1 against Toronto.
Without any surprise, Barkov has also been one of the Panthers’ best players this post-season so far. In five games, he has one goal, five points, and a plus-2 rating. He has been nothing but consistent for the Panthers, but his responsibilities in Game 1 will be even higher.
As noted above, the Maple Leafs have several high-impact forwards who create plenty of offense. With Barkov being the Panthers’ best defensive forward, his top goal will be to shut them down in Game 1. If he is strong defensively, it will greatly improve the Panthers’ chances of winning.
Recent Panthers News
Hockey News