William Nylander scored 33 seconds into the game, and the Toronto Maple Leafs never looked back in a Game 1 nervous victory over the Florida Panthers.
The best of seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series continues Wednesday night in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs were full marks in Monday’s victory, at least over the first 40 minutes where they carried a 4-1 lead into the final frame, winning the majority of puck battles, and holding off the Panthers who came out flying in the third period after Toronto starting netminder Anthony Stolarz left in the middle stanza following a bump in the crease by Florida forward Sam Bennett was noticed by the NHL concussion spotter forcing Joseph Woll to play the final minutes of the game, and third stringer Dennis Hiildeby to serve as Woll’s backup.
After the Panthers cut the lead to 4-3 and carried the majority of play, Matthew Knies scored the eventual game-winner on a beautiful breakaway backhand goal over Sergei Bobrovsky to seal the victory.
As former St. Catharines Saint, and NHL Coach of the Year, Bruce Boudreau told The Niagara Independent last month, the Leafs are more than their Core 4 – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Nylander – “it’s the Core 5 now, because Knies is that good,” Boudreau said.
Joseph Woll, who hadn’t played in 18 days, made 17 stops in relief of Stolarz whose status for Game 2 iis questionable.
Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Stolarz, after playing a number of minutes following the Bennett crease bump, was vomiting on the Toronto bench before Woll replaced him.
TSN later reported Stolarz left Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher.
“Elbow to the head, clear as day,” Leafs bench boss Craig Berube said following the contest.
The discussion surrounding the Stolarz situation will likely continue ahead of Game 2.
One local connection in this series as former Niagara IceDogs captain Carter Verhaeghe, who had two assists in Game 1, is a forward with the Florida Panthers.
Two other Canadian teams are playing in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Edmonton Oilers battled back from a 2-0 series deficit to take down the Los Angeles Kings, while the Winnipeg Jets won a Game 7, double-overtime thriller, 4-3 over the St. Louis Blues who had a 3-1 lead with less than three minutes left in regulation time.
The Oilers will play another former IceDogs captain in Alex Pietrangelo and the Vegas Golden Knights beginning Tuesday night in Sin City.
The Jets welcome the Dallas Stars beginning Wednesday evening. The Stars are expecting former Niagara IceDog Jason Robertson to return from injury for the second round.
And get this, It has been 21 years since the Stanley Cup Playoffs featured three Canadian teams in the second round. The last time was when the Leafs, Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens made it to the quarterfinals in the 2003-04 season.
The other series sees the Washington Capitals taking on the Carolina Hurricanes. Former Brock Badgers goaltender Logan Thompson is the starter for the Capitals.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
