Nick Cousins, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour are each from Ontario. But they also share other things. They scored all four goals for the Panthers in Game 1 of the second round and each has their sights set on eliminating their province’s team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Fallout of the Boston Bruins to everyone’s surprise in seven games in the first round, the Florida Panthers continued their momentum with a 4-2 victory against the Leafs on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.
The Panthers thus signed a fourth victory in a row. They showed from the start that they have no complex against the Maple Leafs, a team that finished the season with 19 points more in the general classification.
Bobrovsky in great shape
Sergei Bobrovsky won the first duel against his compatriot Ilya Samsonov.
Draft for the majority of the season, the man nicknamed Bob regained his confidence at a crucial moment for the Panthers by taking over from Alex Lyon from the fourth game of the series against the Bruins.
For this visit to Toronto, Bobrovsky blocked 34 shots, registering a fourth victory.
In the dying seconds of the match, he cut short a possible comeback by the hosts by stretching the right leg to frustrate William Nylander.
Verhaeghe, the key goal
In their first appearance in the second round since the spring of 2004, the Maple Leafs haven’t had the best start.
Photo REUTERS
Sam Bennett is expected by his teammates to celebrate his goal scored in the second period.
The Panthers got the first two shots with goals from Cousins in the first period and Bennett early in the second.
Trailing 2-0, the team with the maple leaf gave hope to its fans and the many faithful outside the building on Bay Street. Matthew Knies replied just eleven seconds after Bennett’s goal. A little over six minutes in, it was Michael Bunting’s turn to make the mark.
But the Panthers did not shake. Verhaeghe scored the knockout goal before the end of the second period. He surprised Samsonov with a good breakaway shot after a pass from Anthony Duclair. A few seconds before, Jake McCabe had sounded Duclair with a good check.
Still on the adrenaline of this shoulder shot, McCabe however made a blunder by going too deep in the opposing zone, opening the door to a raise.
A first goal and a sixth goal
In that setback, Knies scored his first NHL goal. Used mainly on the left wing with Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner, the Hobey-Baker Trophy finalist broke the ice in his sixth playoff game. He was one of the good players in the Leafs camp.
As for the Panthers, Montour scored a goal in a third game in a row. Author of a season of 73 points, a personal mark, the 29-year-old Ontarian now has six goals and nine points in eight games since the start of the playoffs.
Like the first round, Matthew Tkachuk also had a big say in his team’s success with three assists in that first win over the Maple Leafs.
First period
1-Flo: Nick Cousins (1) (Tkachuk, Bennett)9:25
Penalties: Bennett (Flo) 2:20, Forsling (Flo) 4:46, Giordano (Tor) 19:10
Second period
2-Flo: Sam Bennett (4) (Ekblad, Tkachuk)7:58
3-Tor: Matthew Knies (1) (Matthews, Rielly)8:09
4-Tor: Michael Bunting (1) (Jarnkrok, OReilly)14:51
5-Flo: Carter Verhaeghe (3) (Duclair, Barkov)17:47
Penalties: Mahura (Flo) 8:53
Third period
6-Flo: Brandon Montour (6) (Tkachuk, Barkov)12:24
Penalties: Bennett (Flo) (doumin) 19:23
Shoot to the net
Florida 13 – 6 – 9 – 28 Toronto 9 – 13 – 14 – 36
Guardians:
Flo: Sergei Bobrovsky (G, 4-1) Tor: Ilya Samsonov (P, 4-3)
Numerical advantages:
Flo: 0 in 1, Tor: 0 in 4
Referees:
Kelly Sutherland, Trevor Hanson
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Bryan Panchich
ASSISTANCE:
19,244