LeBrun: Panthers unfazed by unfamiliar 0-2 hole against Maple Leafs — ‘So what?’

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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.

“There’s a decision to be made in the room to understand that teams are going to win games at home, and we’re fine, there’s no panic in our group,’’ veteran Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad told me after Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss. “We’re well-equipped to handle this situation with veteran leadership. A lot of guys have been in this situation. So, we’re not worried. It’s playoff hockey. Home-ice advantage, they won two at home, so what?’’

If there’s a team that truly can say “so what” staring down an 0-2 hole, it is these Panthers. Their swagger is well-earned. Anyone writing them off now would be foolish.

It is, after all, the year of home teams in these playoffs so far. Home teams before Wednesday night were 33-17 in their friendly confines, which was tied with 2013 and 1993 for the third most wins at this stage of a playoff year in NHL history.

The Panthers were bucking that trend in the first round with their perfect hat trick of wins in Tampa. But they’ve now fallen victim to what’s happening around the league this spring with home teams.

But it doesn’t change the fact that they just don’t do this. They absolutely came to the rink on this night expecting to get their split. And with 1-0 and 2-1 leads in Game 2, they looked the part for stretches Wednesday night. But the Leafs didn’t roll over like two years ago in this series.

The Panthers pushed hard to open the third as Anton Lundell got the 3-3 equalizer 5:33 into the period. That felt like the moment that we’ve been accustomed to seeing with this team.

Lundy on the tip in! pic.twitter.com/H3ssXxjll2

— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 8, 2025

OK, here we go, the Panthers are going to take control now.

Instead, Mitch Marner’s floater found the top corner 17 seconds later for a 4-3 Toronto lead that would stay intact.

It is an odd feeling for this Panthers championship squad. And it was a quiet visitors’ dressing room postgame.

Confidence shaken? I don’t think so. But some questions to answer internally to be sure before Game 3.

“They’re a good team, too,’’ Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe said postgame Wednesday night, giving a nod to the Leafs. “They took care of their home ice and we got to do the same. Just two good teams going at it. …

“Every game in the playoffs is a learning opportunity,’’ he added. “I think we’re just going to do that and learn.’’

The question is, learn what exactly? For one, the Panthers can’t be giving up as many dangerous rush chances as they did on this night. The Leafs are effectively countering Florida’s aggressive forecheck at times by transitioning quickly with numbers and getting the Panthers caught behind the play.

All of which is why Panthers head coach Paul Maurice wasn’t ready to let Sergei Bobrovsky wear this one in Game 2.

“Um, didn’t love his first game, but I thought up until the fourth one (tonight), I don’t look at him for any of the first three,” said Maurice of his veteran goalie. “We didn’t give up a tremendous lot, but the danger (chances) on the rush is significant. Goalie’s going to be fine.’’

I agree Bobrovsky will be fine, but nine goals against in two games is still nine goals against in two games. The Panthers have to find a way to tighten up moving forward without sacrificing their DNA forecheck style.

They outshot the Leafs 28-20 on this night, they had their looks to be sure. But gave up too much going the other way at times.

“Well you have to know your game. We talk about that an awful lot,’’ Maurice said. “There’s lots of stuff that we like about our game that we think we can improve on and do more with. We’ll take a look at it and get better.’’

They also need more from some of their big guys. Lundell’s line with Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen was excellent Wednesday night, not just scoring twice, but generating controlled offensive zone time and giving the Leafs fits.

But that was about it for Florida’s offense, outside of Aleksander Barkov’s power-play goal. Matthew Tkachuk still doesn’t look 100 percent since coming back for the playoffs. His burst doesn’t seem to be there. He’s still a good enough player with his hands and hockey IQ alone to compete at a decent level, but he doesn’t look fully like himself. He’s gone four straight games now without scoring a goal and there’s no doubt they need him to get going for the Panthers to come back in this series.

“I thought he was good tonight, I thought he was generating,” Maurice said of Tkachuk, who had three shots on goal. “Like this was the best game for me that he’s played (since he’s been back).’’

We’ll agree to disagree on that. But by the same token, I do expect Tkachuk to find a way to be more impactful the rest of the way here. His track record says as much.

There’s also this, which no one on the Panthers wants to talk about. They’ve gone to two straight Stanley Cup Finals. That’s a lot of hockey. They had a seven-day break between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, and a short, five-game series in the opening round, so short-term, they should be as rested as they’ve been in a long time.

But the residue of two Cup runs now in Year 3 trying to make another? Is it a factor?

“We recuperate in weeks, not years, right?’’ Ekblad said, waiving off that fatigue notion. “So recovery happens day to day. I don’t think that going to Stanley Cup Finals puts you in a hole whatsoever. We still had two full months of rest. That’s not a notion we buy into. We stay in good shape. It’s not an issue.’’

Added Maurice: “We haven’t used that. Today was our seventh game in three weeks. … That’s not an issue for us.’’

That was a pretty calm team postgame Wednesday night. No deer-in-the-headlight looks in that dressing room.

And credit Maurice and the Panthers for not raising a stink over an absolutely brutal embellishment call against Evan Rodrigues in the second period. They had every reason to be furious. But that penalty didn’t change the game and they know that. And lamenting officiating is wasted energy for a championship team. They know that, too. And they move on.

They’re in one now, the Panthers, the Maple Leafs are worthy adversaries. I got a feeling you’ll see the best version of the champs in South Florida in Game 3 on Friday night.

(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)

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