Panthers’ Bobrovsky on stymying Maple Leafs in wild Sport 2: ‘It was enjoyable’

TORONTO — So confounding has been the suffocating efficiency of Sergei Bobrovsky by means of two video games of this collection, so daunting appears the duty of halting the legacy-making run the netminder’s on, you may envision the Maple Leafs trustworthy pining for the times that they had solely to fret about Andrei Vasilevskiy.

4 nights in the past, Toronto moved with the swagger of a metropolis who’d made a titan look human. The Bolts, sure, however Vasilevskiy largely, the unbeatable backstopper crushed 23 occasions over the blue and white’s six-game triumph. 

However after a Thursday evening at Scotiabank Enviornment that started with euphoria, descended into mayhem, and completed with distress, the Maple Leafs now head to Florida down 2-0 of their second-round bout, questioning what else they might probably do to interrupt down the brick wall that’s Bobrovsky standing of their method.

5 minutes right into a Sport 2 collapse that head coach Sheldon Keefe known as “baffling,” this wasn’t a query these Leafs thought they’d be asking.

No, by means of these early minutes, it appeared like Toronto was proper on observe, pulling out the identical trick they got here up with a spherical in the past — the Sport 2 revival — as they stacked two fast targets on Bobrovksy. All of it appeared to be going their method — the tallies, the power-play punishment, the barrage of probabilities.

However slowly, it started to show, the ice tilting and the pucks tumbling in fast succession into the Maple Leafs’ cage, Toronto falling behind. And again on Florida’s finish, the door slammed shut.

Watch every game in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet

The puck has dropped on the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 16 teams competing for hockey’s greatest prize. Watch every game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet and SN NOW.

Choose Plan

Broadcast Schedule

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr;
hole: 20px;
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 16px;
border: 1px stable #CECECE;
background-color: #FFF;
border-radius: 4px;

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info a
text-decoration: none;

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-title
coloration: #343434;
font-family: ‘roboto’;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 600;
line-height: 22px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
prime: -3px;

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-body
coloration: #343434;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 12px;

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title
show: inline-block;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
list-style-type: none;
width: auto;

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title:not(:last-child):after ‘;
coloration: #343434;

“I believe you want your goaltender to win you a recreation each collection, and he did that tonight,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice mentioned of the oft-maligned veteran as soon as the ultimate buzzer had sounded on a 3-2 Florida win. “You get behind the bench some nights and also you get a really feel in your goaltender, going, ‘Man, he’s simply, he’s not getting beat once more.’ 

“That’s what he gave our crew.”

It wasn’t straightforward. The Maple Leafs threw every part that they had on the 34-year-old, testing him 37 occasions over the course of the evening. None however the early pair made it by means of.

Add to that the flurry of probabilities from the house aspect that appeared to ask all the proper questions of Bobrovsky, however wound up glancing off the put up, sliding simply an inch too far within the crease, or bouncing over a stick, and the Leafs gave the impression of a membership out of concepts when their finest held court docket within the locker room post-game, making an attempt to type by means of the missed alternatives of their heads.

“I believe it’s sticking with it,” Auston Matthews mentioned of how his crew can break by means of in opposition to Bobrovsky in Sport 3. “I will need to have jumped out of my seat about 3 times, I believed we had the puck within the web — (however) it’s laying proper there, it’s simply missed. 

“I believe we simply need to proceed to keep it up, clear up a few of these little breakdowns that we had. Maintain our foot on the pedal.”

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::earlier than
content material: “”;
place: absolute;
prime: 45%;
left: 50%;
remodel: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
top: 0px;
border-top: 14px stable clear;
border-left: 22px stable #fff;
border-bottom: 14px stable clear;
margin-left: 3px;

His captain echoed the sentiment.

“I believe you retain placing pucks there, you retain difficult him,” Tavares mentioned. “You retain trusting your instincts and making an attempt to, clearly, beat him in your appears to be like. After which proceed to search out second and third alternatives. 

“Now we have to proceed to attempt to get there and make it troublesome on him. And clearly simply maintain taking pictures.”

The issue on the toes of those Leafs is that the run they’re making an attempt to cease, the boulder barrelling ahead that they have to halt, has been rolling for extra than simply this pair of video games in Toronto. It’s transferring additionally with the momentum of three straight wins over the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in Spherical 1 — three do-or-die nights to maintain this crew’s season alive, to creator a playoff-altering comeback.

For no matter confidence will be gleaned, no less than, from the truth that the Leafs rained down a barrage on Bobrovsky in every of their two losses — 36 pictures in Sport 1, 37 in Sport 2 — the person on the opposite aspect appears to only be taking it in stride. It’s merely extra of the identical, Bobrovsky having averaged 39 shots-against from the B’s over that historic three-game collection comeback.

Reflecting on the Thursday-night win that prolonged his run to 5 straight post-season W’s, Bobrovsky didn’t look like the exhausted, weathered, just-hanging-on opponent the Leafs trustworthy would’ve hoped for.

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::earlier than
content material: “”;
place: absolute;
prime: 45%;
left: 50%;
remodel: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
top: 0px;
border-top: 14px stable clear;
border-left: 22px stable #fff;
border-bottom: 14px stable clear;
margin-left: 3px;

“It was two good video games. It was enjoyable, you already know?” Bobrovsky mentioned. “Playoff hockey. It was enjoyable. I’m simply lucky to be on this spot.”

The evening was decidedly much less satisfying on the opposite aspect of the sheet, the place Ilya Samsonov had a promising displaying undone by a Maple Leafs squad that got here undone themselves over the course of 60 weird minutes of hockey. 

No. 35 was certainly not excellent on this one. However as he has achieved for this membership so many occasions earlier than, he gave them each alternative to win this pivotal Sport 2, arising with necessary saves at necessary moments to maintain the sport inside a shot.

The primary got here simply moments after Alex Kerfoot put Toronto up 1-0 two-and-a-half minutes in. Rewind again to the Maple Leafs’ final Sport 2, and there too got here an early aim — after which a tying aim on the very subsequent play, negating the robust begin. This time, Samsonov made the save — turning away a pair of untamed pictures — permitting that begin to breathe.

The following got here simply minutes after Florida had lastly scored their first of the sport. The Panthers had lower Toronto’s result in 2-1, discovering life. The Maple Leafs’ construction was starting to slide. All of the sudden, they had been bearing down on the Leafs’ cage on a two-on-one — Zac Dalpe was sliding the puck over to Aaron Ekblad, who discovered himself on their own in entrance. Samsonov was there, laying out, holding him at bay.

Within the remaining seconds of that more and more chaotic first interval, he was there once more. This time it was this collection’ final Leaf Killer in search of the tying aim — Matthew Tkachuk discovering himself with the puck on his stick, a taking pictures lane huge open in entrance of him, 19 seconds on the clock. Once more, No. 35 got here up with the save, holding them off.

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::earlier than
content material: “”;
place: absolute;
prime: 45%;
left: 50%;
remodel: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
top: 0px;
border-top: 14px stable clear;
border-left: 22px stable #fff;
border-bottom: 14px stable clear;
margin-left: 3px;

However what appeared like a momentary disaster averted was the truth is the start of a slide.

A minute and a half into the second interval, the Leafs’ lead was gone, and the Panthers had constructed their very own. 

First got here a brutal turnover from William Nylander inside 30 seconds, the winger selecting the puck up within the impartial zone, reducing again in the direction of his personal blue line, and falling. Anthony Duclair picked up the reward, gave it to Aleksander Barkov, and the Cats captain wired the tying aim previous a screening T.J. Brodie. 2-2.

Whereas that one was nonetheless being introduced over the world’s PA system, one other gaffe arrived. This time it was Mitch Marner, carrying the puck up the left wing in his personal zone, dropping a cross again to Matthews fairly than delivering it safely to the impartial zone. After which it was No. 34, inside his personal blue line, making an attempt to flip the puck up and overtop of the Panther standing in entrance of him — as an alternative, it fell simply to Eetu Luostarinen and the Cats, who pounced because the Leafs scrambled, Tkachuk whipping a cross-ice cross to Gustav Forsling, who beat a sprawling Samsonov.

“Disappointing. Baffling. We didn’t make these errors one time within the final collection,” a terse Keefe mentioned post-game, when requested about how this one fell aside in that second-period stretch.

“We clearly had a pair errors — we’ve simply received to do a greater job with caring for the puck,” Tavares added. “It clearly put us in a troublesome spot. Now we have to do higher. … They’re able to pounce on errors, they usually have the ability to make these performs and make you pay. So, we’ve received to be diligent, and proceed to be sharp, and (conscious of) simply how necessary every play, and each puck, is.”

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::earlier than
content material: “”;
place: absolute;
prime: 45%;
left: 50%;
remodel: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
top: 0px;
border-top: 14px stable clear;
border-left: 22px stable #fff;
border-bottom: 14px stable clear;
margin-left: 3px;

Even nonetheless, after being burned by the teammates in entrance of him on these two targets — and by a world-class Sam Reinhart setup from behind the web on Florida’s first of the evening — Samsonov did what he may to maintain Toronto in it, shutting the door for the practically 40 minutes that adopted.

Ultimately, it wasn’t sufficient.

“Once more, the result’s dangerous for us,” Samsonov mentioned post-game. “I believe I would like to return dwelling and look within the mirror, and ask what I have to do extra on the ice for the crew. I believe that is what we have to do — everyone.”

After giving up seven targets by means of the primary two video games of this collection, there’s enhancements to be made within the netminder’s recreation, little doubt. However roll again the tape, and also you’ll see simply as a lot correction wanted in entrance of him.

“I simply assume (it was) a pair errors, they usually’re excellent at making good on their alternatives, particularly coming off turnovers,” Matthews mentioned of the blunders that sunk his netminder Thursday. “Clearly we have to make good on our probabilities. I felt like we had sufficient offence and sufficient probabilities to get us again within the recreation, and even earlier, to increase our lead. 

“We couldn’t capitalize, and that was it proper there.”

The duty solely will get harder from right here, because the Leafs now transfer into the following section of this collection needing 4 wins in 5 video games to maintain this run alive. Needing some strategy to break by means of in opposition to Bobrovsky as he channels his 2019 Blue Jackets David-and-Goliath type.

However whereas all focus round this metropolis will stay on the opposite aspect of the rink, on Bobrovsky and Tkachuk and the way the Panthers managed to impose their will on Toronto, rely the Maple Leafs’ personal underdog ‘tender uninterested.

“I don’t give a f–––,” Samsonov mentioned Thursday, when requested concerning the impression of Bobrovsky doing what he’s achieved thus far. “It doesn’t matter to me. I’m doing my work, he’s doing his work.”

If Sport 3 is to go any otherwise, the remainder of his membership might want to observe his lead — channelling that fireplace, directing it to their very own work — earlier than the following take a look at arrives Sunday.

Extra from Sportsnet

‘Baffling’: Maple Leafs blow lead, lose Knies to pesky Panthers in Sport 2

Public Enemy No. 1: Maple Leafs displeased with Panthers’ Bennett after Sport 2

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
hole: 20px;

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
coloration: black;