NHL Playoffs 2025: Auston Matthews powers Maple Leafs to Game 7, leads 3 Stars of the Night

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a pulse. Auston Matthews has a pulse. There will be a Game 7 in Toronto after the visiting Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers, 2-0, in Game 6.

Coming into Friday night, Matthews had yet to score in the series as the Maple Leafs saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit. As a result, Matthews was facing a lot of pressure heading into an elimination game, and he delivered.

With 6:20 gone in the third period, Matthews broke a scoreless tie when he entered the zone off the rush and unleashed a laser past Sergei Bobrovsky to break a scoreless tie. That goal was Matthews’ first of the series, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Toronto.

Later in the period, veteran Max Pacioretty doubled the Toronto lead with his third goal of the postseason. Pacioretty finished a gorgeous feed from Bobby McMann as he was aggressively driving the net.

NHL Playoffs 2025: Stanley Cup schedule, bracket, scores, as Maple Leafs force Game 7 vs. Panthers

Austin Nivison

The other big story of the night for the Leafs was the play of goalie Joseph Woll, who recovered from a disastrous Game 5 in which he allowed five goals on just 25 shots against. In this one, Woll stopped all 22 shots the Panthers threw his way for a shutout victory.

With another night of the NHL playoffs in the books, let’s highlight the best and brightest with our 3 Stars of the Night.

3. Max Pacioretty | LW | Maple Leafs

For much of the last couple seasons, Pacioretty has looked like a veteran forward in the twilight of his career. In these playoffs, Pacioretty has turned back the clock, and he turned in another excellent game tonight.

In Game 6, Pacioretty found a way to score a huge insurance goal for the Maple Leafs late in the third period. Pacioretty simply beat Nate Schmidt to the net to chip home a perfect feed from McMann to give Toronto a little extra breathing room. If the Leafs are going to win this series, they need more from the supporting cast, and Pacioretty gave that to them.

2. Joseph Woll | G | Maple Leafs

Woll, like the rest of the Maple Leafs, had a catastrophic outing in Game 5. It was fair to wonder how he could recover enough to force a Game 7, but he was perfect on Friday. Toronto’s defense made life much easier on Woll, but he was there to clean up everything that got through.

The Panthers threw just 22 shots on Woll, but he turned away each one of them. Woll just had to make four high-danger saves all game, per Natural Stat Trick, but he came up big when the moment called for it. In the end Woll saved 1.11 goals above average while denying all seven rebound attempts Florida got. If he can carry this over into Game 7, Toronto might be in the Eastern Conference final.

1. Auston Matthews | C | Maple Leafs

Was any player under a more powerful microscopre than Matthews? That was a rhetorical question. The Leafs’ captain hadn’t scored at all in this series until he netted the game-winner in a do-or-die Game 6.

The Panthers held Matthews in check for a vast majority of the series until he got just enough space to let a shot fly off the rush in the third period. It was a vintage Matthews’ goal with his lethal release catching Bobrovsky off guard to give Toronto a late lead. That goal had to feel like the weight of the world lifting off Matthews’ shoulders, and it will be very interesting to see whether he can use this as a springboard for a clutch Game 7 performance.