Bobrovsky makes 23 saves, Verhaeghe, Bennett score for Florida
Maple Leafs at Panthers | Recap | Round 2, Game 4
SUNRISE, Fla. — Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves for the Florida Panthers in a 2-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday.
Florida won both games at home to tie the best-of-7 series 2-2. Game 5 will be at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).
“It’s a series, and the bigger games are ahead,” Bobrovsky said. “We’re excited that the series becomes a best-of-3. So, it’s a big game, the next one.”
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Atlantic Division.
“We’re mindful that it is one game,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t believe in momentum when the puck drops on the next game. We’re going to need to fight hard to get back to what was a pretty well-played game by our team.”
Joseph Woll made 35 saves for the Maple Leafs, who are the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic.
“He was great, played an excellent game,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said of Woll. “He was a big reason that it was only 1-0 (going into the third). … In the end, I really liked our physicality, our compete. Guys are playing hard. This is a tough series. They’re a very good team.”
Verhaeghe gave Florida a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 15:45 of the first period. He scored with a one-timer from below the right circle off a quick cross-ice pass from Matthew Tkachuk, who was along the left boards.
TOR@FLA, Gm4: Tkachuk sets up Verhaeghe to get things started with a PPG
Verhaeghe’s goal came on Florida’s fourth power play of the first period.
“Any time we get the early lead, I mean, we had some pretty poor starts in this series,” Verhaeghe said. “That was one thing we wanted to get better at, and getting the early lead definitely helped. We held on, played pretty well.”
TOR@FLA, Gm4: Bennett whips in a wrister to double the lead
The Panthers outshot the Maple Leafs 29-12 through two periods, but they weren’t able to get a little breathing room until 12:09 of the third, when Bennett made it 2-0. Following a turnover in the neutral zone, Bennett skated in on a partial 2-on-1 and waited out Woll as he cut toward the slot before shooting into an open net.
“I was taking it down, looking at all my options,” Bennett said. “I was going to pass at first, then I was going to shoot, but neither opened up. I was able to hold onto it, able to put it in.”
After Bennett’s goal, Florida limited Toronto to just four shots on goal the rest of the way.
“That was more like the Panthers playoff hockey that we’re used to,” Bennett said. “It was a tighter game, less opportunities. We didn’t give up many odd-man rushes at all. We did a good job of limiting their chances. Good game all around.”
NOTES: Verhaeghe scored his 11th postseason game-winning goal, which is tied with Corey Perry, Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane for the fifth-most among active players. Verhaeghe has played in just 78 postseason games. … Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues left the game at 4:51 of the third period after he was hit without the puck by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play. Maurice said Rodrigues would “need to be evaluated.”
