The 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway with the Florida Panthers visiting Scotiabank Arena and the Maple Leafs. Carter Verhaeghe sent the Cats to the 2nd Rd with an OT winner in Game 7 to stun Boston while John Tavares finished off Tampa with an OT winner of his own. It might have been a 2nd Rd matchup we might’ve not expected but it still seems intriguing.
This Florida Panthers team might be my underrated and under appreciated team of the year. They haven’t got enough praise for what they’ve done and as being the 2nd wild card team, they beat the best team in the NHL, the mighty Boston Bruins. Paul Maurice made a terrific decision by taking out Lyon and putting in Bobrovsky, who was excellent. Florida just hung in there the entire series and never let the Bruins go wild. The top line was kept in check and Boston was never comfortable. It never looked to me that the Panthers were out of it and they had that same drive throughout the series. In this series against the Leafs, they have to be more disciplined. Their penalty kill was awful and it was a poor 59.3% (NHL.com). As long as they keep it 5 vs 5, I give them a real chance to win this series and go to the Eastern Conference Finals.
How the Toronto Maple Leafs won the series vs the Lightning still puzzles me but somehow, they’re in the 2nd Round. They were 3-0 in overtime but they didn’t play great in Games 3 & 4. This team woke up in the 3rd period and found ways to win in OT. In this series, the Maple Leafs absolutely cannot get themselves into a hole early. I want them to be aggressive and force Florida into giveaways. The Panthers have a lot of quality and if the Leafs are lazy, they’re going to concede some goals. Additionally, the Leafs have to cash in on their power play chances. Florida’s penalty kill looked pretty awful to me and they really struggled 4 vs 5. Florida are excellent at even strength so the Leafs power play will have to be huge.
From the 1st look, I really don’t know which way this series will go. Paul Maurice’s side really impressed me but the Maple Leafs’ resilience is fantastic. My Game 1 prediction is 4-3 to the Maple Leafs. My series prediction is that the Panthers will win this series in 7 games. This team has shown no quit and were able to silence a ruthless Bruins team. First, they were down 3-1 in the series but still managed to force a Game 7 and then, they made a comeback to finally win in OT. The mentality is great and I believe they’ll be able to quiet down the Maple Leafs’ top forwards. Game 1 is available to watch on ESPN at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, May the 2nd from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Two Atlantic division rivals meet with a trip to the Conference finals on the line. Can Matthew Tkachuk lead the Panthers past Toronto or will Sheldon Keefe cool down the Sunshine State? We’ll find out soon in what should be a captivating 2nd Round series in the East.
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