Connect with us

Sports

Throw the Rats! Eighth-Seed Florida Panthers Advance Again in the Postseason

Published

on

Photo Credit: www.twitter.com/FLAPanthers

Toronto Maple Leafs fans went viral on social media platforms before the series had even began, after shouting “we want Florida!” Well, they did get Florida and now they will watch the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs from home.

Nick Cousins scored at 15:32 minute mark of overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky came up with 50 saves as the Florida Panthers emerged victorious over the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in Game 5 of their second-round NHL playoff series on Friday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Cousins would make his second goal of the playoffs off an assist from Radko Gudas on a rush short-side against Maple Leafs rookie goalie Joseph Woll, ultimately sending the Panthers to the conference finals for the first time since 1996. That’s over two decades if your counting, Florida fans have been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

“It’s one of those moments where you’ll grow up and tell your kids about, my daughter’s only 11 months old. I have something I get to tell her when she grows up,” said Nick Cousins.

Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad would both add goals of their own including an assist for each, which helped Florida jump out to a 2-0 lead during the first period of action.

Florida had the fewest points of any team in the NHL to qualify for the postseason this year, but they now boast an impressive 6-1 record in away games during the playoffs. The Panthers beat the Maple Leafs three times in Toronto’s own arena during the five game series. The Panthers next opponent will be the Carolina Hurricanes, who also beat the New Jersey Devils in five games.

“Nobody in the world thought we were going to be in this position, we don’t care what anybody’s opinion is,” said Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk, he was named one of three finalists for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP before the game.

William Nylander and Morgan Rielly both scored for the Maple Leafs, who had advanced past the first round of the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2004 over a week ago; a 4-2 series victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to their 4-1 series loss against the Florida Panthers on Friday.

“You’re disappointed, you feel for your teammates, you feel for everybody,” Morgan Rielly said.

Toronto’s high-powered offense, which includes their “Core Four” of Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, they only scored just three times in the series. As a team they totaled 14 goals in their last seven playoff games, and only 10 would come against a stingy Panthers defense.

“It’s gonna take time for the sting of this series to wear off, a missed opportunity for our group. We had a team good enough to win the Stanley Cup. We didn’t do that,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.

Check out LifeWalletSports.com to get connected with all of our NIL athletes and partnered brands.

Advertisement

Legal

Contact Us

Please fill out the form below to connect with us, or call 878-425-3782.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © COPYRIGHT 2025 LIFEWALLET NETWORK