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The Maple Leafs lead the Panthers 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals as the series shifts to South Florida for Game 3.
Toronto barely came out on top in each of the first two games, with plenty of drama in both. While a 2-0 lead is nothing to sneeze at, it's hard to imagine the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers going down without a fight.
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The process for pulling an NHL player from a game due to a potential concussion is complex.
The league introduced concussion spotters during the 2015-16 season as part of its initial concussion protocols, but over time, the way those spotters interact with events on the ice has evolved.
While it was initially on team employees to flag and pull players from games, the NHL later introduced neutral spotters at the league offices in New York and in arenas around the league.
Read about these spotters and their protocols below.
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TORONTO — Anthony Stolarz did not make the trip to Florida with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates for Game 3 of their second-round series with the Panthers, coach Craig Berube told the media on Thursday.
The Leafs have not provided any formal update on Stolarz’s condition since he was removed from the opening game of the series on Monday night.
Read more on the Leafs goaltender below.
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Anthony Stolarz won’t travel with Maple Leafs to Florida for Game 3
Robert F.: No one is writing off the panthers, they’re just giving the Leafs a chance to actually win this series. That is all.
David T.: The Panthers are more than capable of reeling off four in a row.
Craig B.: The Panthers will destroy any team when they are at their best. The Leafs will destroy themselves when they are at their worst. This series is far from over. Nobody is expecting the Panthers to fold. Everyone is expecting a reaction.
TORONTO — It has been a while, to be sure.
The defending Stanley Cup champions aren’t a whole lot used to leaving a road city down 2-0. This is normally the moment early in a series when the Florida Panthers have swung momentum their way.
They entered this second-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs 18-9 in road playoff games since the start of the 2023 postseason, having just gone 3-0 in Tampa in the opening round.
And two years ago, of course, they walked out of Scotiabank Arena after two wins here to open the series, en route to a comfortable five-game series win.
Home away from home has been a real thing for these road warriors.
So this, getting on an airplane headed home down 2-0, yeah, the champs haven’t felt this in a while.
Read more of the Leafs below ahead of Game 3.
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LeBrun: Panthers unfazed by unfamiliar 0-2 hole against Maple Leafs — ‘So what?’
TORONTO — No active player is more qualified to assess the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ playoff chances than Brad Marchand.
Not only is the Florida Panthers’ spark plug taking part in his fifth series against them, and fourth in the Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner/William Nylander era, but he has spent all of a 16-year NHL career playing in the same division.
And after seeing how Toronto built a 2-0 lead to open this second-round series with the Panthers, Marchand confirmed what a lot of onlookers felt they’ve been seeing this spring: a much more committed, together and structured group that finally seems to have grasped what it takes to get the job done in the playoffs.
“Absolutely,” Marchand said after Toronto’s 4-3 win Wednesday night. “They’re continuing to get better and grow.”
Read more below.
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The Maple Leafs finally look like they know what it takes to win in the postseason
TORONTO — Two playoff wins in the second round. A 6-2 start to the postseason.
Trumpeting those stats might sound odd in some NHL markets, but it has been a good while since any of this has happened in this city. In fact, the Toronto Maple Leafs have only started the postseason with six wins in their first eight playoff games twice in the modern era, in 1987 and 2001.
In a span of 58 years.
In fact, this is the first time the Leafs are up 2-0 in a series that isn’t in the first round since 1987!
Check out the five reasons why below.
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5 reasons the Maple Leafs have the defending champ Panthers on the ropes
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By Joshua Kloke and Chris Johnston
TORONTO — After entering the second round of the playoffs as betting underdogs, the Toronto Maple Leafs now have the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on the ropes.
With a spirited and complete 4-3 win in Game 2, the Leafs own a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Game 2 offered entertainment value and back-and-forth hockey that is not always anticipated in playoff games. While the Panthers owned the majority of five-on-five possession and expected goals, the Leafs showed a quality they’ve often lacked: unmitigated pushback.
Read our takeaways from Game 2 below.
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Maple Leafs defeat Panthers in Game 2, take 2-0 series lead: Takeaways
The remaining schedule for the Maple Leafs-Panthers series:
*If neccessary
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Tonight's game is at Amerant Bank Arena in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Fla., near Ft. Lauderdale.
It opened in 1998.
Its most notable moment came just last year when the Panthers won Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and lifted the iconic trophy in front of their home fans.
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Tonight's Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers will air on TNT and truTV and stream on Max in the United States and air on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.
Today's Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. PT.
Hello hockey fans and welcome to The Athletic where today we have you covered as the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers shift to South Florida for Game 3.
The Maple Leafs won the first two games of the series in front of packed home crowds at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Leafs fended off a furious late Panthers rally in Game 1 and got a third-period winner from Mitch Marner in Game 2.
But this series is far from over as the defending Stanley Cup champions now get to face Toronto on home ice.
Stick with us right here at The Athletic for the latest news and insights from our team of writers all the way to the puck drop and to the final buzzer!
