May 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during overtime in game three of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Two months after the Florida Panthers acquired an injured Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins, it is the Toronto Maple Leafs who are starting to feel the pain.
Florida will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday in Game 4 of a second-round Eastern Conference playoff series at Sunrise, Fla., with the Panthers out to reap more rewards from the move to acquire the 36-year-old veteran.
On Friday, Marchand continued to show he feels just fine now, scoring in overtime as Florida beat Toronto 5-4 to cut the Panthers’ deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.
Marchand was humble when asked about his game-winner.
“It’s a blur,” he said. “It’s one second of a game. It could’ve been anybody. It all happens so quick, and you’re exhausted at that point.”
Tired or not, teammate Carter Verhaeghe said Marchand brings energy to the Panthers.
“He scores big goals in big moments,” Verhaeghe said.
In a decorated career, Marchand has scored 14 game-winning playoff goals, the most among any active NHL player.
The Panthers also are grateful to have another 36-year-old on their roster in goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who made two massive saves in overtime. He preserved the opportunity for Marchand’s heroics when he stopped breakaways by William Nylander and Matthew Knies.
It was Bobrovsky’s 51st career playoff win.
After winning the Stanley Cup last season, the Panthers already have shown plenty of grit, and more was on display in Game 3 when they had 62 hits to 43 for the Maple Leafs.
Since Game 3 in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, the Panthers are 13-2 in overtime playoff games.
Florida also eliminated Toronto from the 2023 playoffs, the last time the teams met in the postseason, and the Panthers won their 2024-25 season series against the Maple Leafs 3-1.
And yet, with the Maple Leafs threatening to advance to the conference finals and the Panthers pulling off some dramatics at home, nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet, with both teams winning their home games in the series so far.
Each game in the series has been decided by one goal.
Of Toronto’s four goals on Friday, two of them bounced off a Florida player, and one clanged off the crossbar leading to an easy rebound.
Out of Florida’s five goals, two of them bounced off either the body or the stick of Toronto’s Morgan Rielly.
“That’s how pucks are going in right now,” Rielly said, “and it’s not just in this series.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube said his team needs to keep the heat on the Panthers.
“We got back to playing our game in (Friday’s third period),” Berube said. “We were pressuring them, getting pucks in behind them and going to work. We need to keep doing that.”
Toronto received two of their four goals by John Tavares in Game 3, when the Panthers benched their previous fourth line of Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm and Jesper Boqvist in favor of Tomas Nosek, Jonah Gadjovich and AJ Greer.
The move worked as Nosek scored Florida’s fourth goal.
“It felt like we needed a style change,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “(Those three players) work so hard every day.”
Added Verhaeghe: “They turned the tide for our team.”
Tavares is looking for something more akin to how the Leafs played at Toronto.
“They’re a good team,” Tavares said. “They pushed hard. We need to execute like we have in the past.”
–Field Level Media
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Pacers tie NBA playoff record with 41-point halftime lead vs. Cavs in Game 4
<!--> The Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by building a 41-point halftime lead Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.The 80-39 lead matched the previous mark set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar. And the Pacers did it despite having one of their top scorers, Bennedict Mathurin, ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul less than eight minutes into the game.It’s also the 10th time in playoff history any team has scored 80 points in a half. Oklahoma City did it most recently, with 87 points in Game 2 against Denver earlier this week.ADVERTISEMENT -->The Pacers dominated the first two quarters, shooting 60% from the field and making 12 of 18 3-pointers while posting 25 assists. Cleveland shot 25% from the field, […]
Pacers tie NBA playoff record with 41-point halftime lead vs. Cavs in Game 4
<!--> The Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by building a 41-point halftime lead Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.The 80-39 lead matched the previous mark set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar. And the Pacers did it despite having one of their top scorers, Bennedict Mathurin, ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul less than eight minutes into the game.It’s also the 10th time in playoff history any team has scored 80 points in a half. Oklahoma City did it most recently, with 87 points in Game 2 against Denver earlier this week.ADVERTISEMENT -->The Pacers dominated the first two quarters, shooting 60% from the field and making 12 of 18 3-pointers while posting 25 assists. Cleveland shot 25% from the field, […]
NBA playoffs: Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell leaves Game 4 early with ankle injury after Pacers’ historic first half blowout
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost star Donovan Mitchell after what was a historically-bad first half on Sunday night.Mitchell did not take the court with the Cavaliers for the second half of their Game 4 matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. Mitchell wasn't with the team on the bench, either, as the second half got started in Indianapolis.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThen midway through the second half, the Cavaliers said that Mitchell was doubtful to return with a left ankle injury. Mitchell actually tweaked his ankle while warming back up for the second half. He was seen preparing to take a shot near the top of the arc when he suddenly stepped awkwardly and bent down, clearly in a lot of pain.Further specifics of his injury are not yet known. Mitchell had 12 points and shot 3-of-11 from the field in the […]
Palmeiras lidera o Brasileirão Série A com grandes números
Elenco do Palmeiras comemora gol contra o São Paulo (Foto: Cesar Greco/Palmeiras/by Canon) Neste domingo (11), o Palmeiras recebeu o São Paulo em duelo válido pelo Brasileirão. O Alviverde apresentou bom futebol durante a partida inteira, mas encaminhava uma partida empatada até a entrada de Vitor Roque que marcou no último minuto. O resultado deixou o Verdão na liderança do torneio, confirmando os números impressionantes. Palmeiras tem números impressionantes O Verdão já disputou 8 partidas pelo Campeonato Brasileiro e é líder do torneio. O topo da tabela é fruto de 6 vitórias, 1 empate e apenas 1 derrota, contra o Bahia. Portanto, segundo o site de estatísticas do portal Sofascore, o Palmeiras detém um aproveitamento de 79%. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Nos 8 jogos disputados pelo Brasileirão, o time comandado por Abel Ferreira marcou 9 gols e apenas sofreu 3 tentos. O […]
Nikola Jokić knows he needs to do a ‘better job’ if Nuggets want to get past Thunder
DENVER — For most of the past five years, Nikola Jokić has taken his game to such a high level that you are almost shocked when he actually misses a shot or makes a bad read offensively or doesn’t finish a play close to the basket. The mystique of his being almost universally thought of as the best player in the world involves his having no weakness offensively. Defensively? Sure, there are some flaws. But, offensively, he’s been the most complete player in basketball for years.AdvertisementThere have been small playoff defects. For instance, last year, Jokić’s 3-point shot abandoned him in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he was still dominant at every other spot on the floor, so nobody thought much of his not shooting well from beyond the arc. There haven’t been all-out craters like what […]
Nikola Jokić knows he needs to do a ‘better job’ if Nuggets want to get past Thunder
DENVER — For most of the past five years, Nikola Jokić has taken his game to such a high level that you are almost shocked when he actually misses a shot or makes a bad read offensively or doesn’t finish a play close to the basket. The mystique of his being almost universally thought of as the best player in the world involves his having no weakness offensively. Defensively? Sure, there are some flaws. But, offensively, he’s been the most complete player in basketball for years.AdvertisementThere have been small playoff defects. For instance, last year, Jokić’s 3-point shot abandoned him in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he was still dominant at every other spot on the floor, so nobody thought much of his not shooting well from beyond the arc. There haven’t been all-out craters like what […]
Related
Pacers tie NBA playoff record with 41-point halftime lead vs. Cavs in Game 4
<!--> The Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by building a 41-point halftime lead Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.The 80-39 lead matched the previous mark set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar. And the Pacers did it despite having one of their top scorers, Bennedict Mathurin, ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul less than eight minutes into the game.It’s also the 10th time in playoff history any team has scored 80 points in a half. Oklahoma City did it most recently, with 87 points in Game 2 against Denver earlier this week.ADVERTISEMENT -->The Pacers dominated the first two quarters, shooting 60% from the field and making 12 of 18 3-pointers while posting 25 assists. Cleveland shot 25% from the field, […]
Pacers tie NBA playoff record with 41-point halftime lead vs. Cavs in Game 4
<!--> The Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by building a 41-point halftime lead Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.The 80-39 lead matched the previous mark set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar. And the Pacers did it despite having one of their top scorers, Bennedict Mathurin, ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul less than eight minutes into the game.It’s also the 10th time in playoff history any team has scored 80 points in a half. Oklahoma City did it most recently, with 87 points in Game 2 against Denver earlier this week.ADVERTISEMENT -->The Pacers dominated the first two quarters, shooting 60% from the field and making 12 of 18 3-pointers while posting 25 assists. Cleveland shot 25% from the field, […]
NBA playoffs: Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell leaves Game 4 early with ankle injury after Pacers’ historic first half blowout
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost star Donovan Mitchell after what was a historically-bad first half on Sunday night.Mitchell did not take the court with the Cavaliers for the second half of their Game 4 matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. Mitchell wasn't with the team on the bench, either, as the second half got started in Indianapolis.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThen midway through the second half, the Cavaliers said that Mitchell was doubtful to return with a left ankle injury. Mitchell actually tweaked his ankle while warming back up for the second half. He was seen preparing to take a shot near the top of the arc when he suddenly stepped awkwardly and bent down, clearly in a lot of pain.Further specifics of his injury are not yet known. Mitchell had 12 points and shot 3-of-11 from the field in the […]
Palmeiras lidera o Brasileirão Série A com grandes números
Elenco do Palmeiras comemora gol contra o São Paulo (Foto: Cesar Greco/Palmeiras/by Canon) Neste domingo (11), o Palmeiras recebeu o São Paulo em duelo válido pelo Brasileirão. O Alviverde apresentou bom futebol durante a partida inteira, mas encaminhava uma partida empatada até a entrada de Vitor Roque que marcou no último minuto. O resultado deixou o Verdão na liderança do torneio, confirmando os números impressionantes. Palmeiras tem números impressionantes O Verdão já disputou 8 partidas pelo Campeonato Brasileiro e é líder do torneio. O topo da tabela é fruto de 6 vitórias, 1 empate e apenas 1 derrota, contra o Bahia. Portanto, segundo o site de estatísticas do portal Sofascore, o Palmeiras detém um aproveitamento de 79%. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Nos 8 jogos disputados pelo Brasileirão, o time comandado por Abel Ferreira marcou 9 gols e apenas sofreu 3 tentos. O […]
Nikola Jokić knows he needs to do a ‘better job’ if Nuggets want to get past Thunder
DENVER — For most of the past five years, Nikola Jokić has taken his game to such a high level that you are almost shocked when he actually misses a shot or makes a bad read offensively or doesn’t finish a play close to the basket. The mystique of his being almost universally thought of as the best player in the world involves his having no weakness offensively. Defensively? Sure, there are some flaws. But, offensively, he’s been the most complete player in basketball for years.AdvertisementThere have been small playoff defects. For instance, last year, Jokić’s 3-point shot abandoned him in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he was still dominant at every other spot on the floor, so nobody thought much of his not shooting well from beyond the arc. There haven’t been all-out craters like what […]
Nikola Jokić knows he needs to do a ‘better job’ if Nuggets want to get past Thunder
DENVER — For most of the past five years, Nikola Jokić has taken his game to such a high level that you are almost shocked when he actually misses a shot or makes a bad read offensively or doesn’t finish a play close to the basket. The mystique of his being almost universally thought of as the best player in the world involves his having no weakness offensively. Defensively? Sure, there are some flaws. But, offensively, he’s been the most complete player in basketball for years.AdvertisementThere have been small playoff defects. For instance, last year, Jokić’s 3-point shot abandoned him in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he was still dominant at every other spot on the floor, so nobody thought much of his not shooting well from beyond the arc. There haven’t been all-out craters like what […]
Be the first to leave a comment