Matthews, Leafs Eliminate Sens In 5, Face Marchand, Panthers In 2nd Round

The long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs have survived and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, but the process was not without the usual dose of pain that is so familiar to the team and its fans.

Toronto was able to pull out a 4-2 victory in Game 6 over the Ottawa Senators, but the game had the look of so many previous Maple Leaf losses. After dropping Games 4 and 5 in the series, the visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the Canadian Tire Centre on goals by Core 4 superstars Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The Senators rallied behind Brady Tkachuk and David Perron tie the score with less than 8 minutes remaining in the third period.

As overtime beckoned, seldom-used veteran Max Pacioretty beat Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark with a well-place wrist shot to the top corner less that two minutes after the Sens had tied the score.

An empty net goal by Nylander clinched the Toronto victory and allowed head coach Craig Berube and his players to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I think we’re happy about obviously being in the second round but now our focus is on Florida,” Nylander said. “That’s where I think our minds are at. Enjoy the win, then focus on Florida.”

The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers are sure to offer a bigger challenge than the inexperienced Sens, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Florida emerged from a first-round meeting with the cross-state Tampa Bay Lightning to earn a 5-game triumph.

After playing six games against Brady Tkachuk, the Maple Leafs now get a chance to compete against Matthew Tkachuk, the captain and leader of the Panthers. He is a smart, opportunistic and dangerous player who will cross the line when he thinks he can get away with it.

Defending champion Panthers have dangerous weapons

he Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago before winning the prize last year. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Sasha Barkov, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe all follow Tkachuk’s lead. However, the ex-factor is former Bruins captain Brad Marchand, who came to the Panthers in a late-season trade.

While he certainly looks unfamiliar in Panthers colors, the pesky and feisty Marchand is fitting right in and helping head coach Paul Maurice’s cause. He had four assists in the five-game series and finished with a plus-5 rating.

Since Toronto won the Atlantic Division this season while the Panthers finished third, the Maple Leafs will have home-ice advantage in the series that is likely to get underway Sunday or Monday as the NHL has not announced the official start to the series.

The other second-round series in the East features Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Caps defeated the upstart Montreal Canadiens in five hard-fought games. Washington had been underwhelming in the final weeks of the regular season despite their status as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Capitals got the job done.

The pivotal moment came in the third period of Game 4 at the Bell Center. The Canadiens had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period and were threatening to tie the series at 2 games apiece. However, the Caps asserted their dominance with a 4-goal third period to earn a 5-2 triumph and take a 3-1 lead in the series.

Ovechkin scored the opening goal in Game 5 and Washington cruised to a 4-1 victory. They will face Rod Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes, another team that won its first-round series in five games.

The New Jersey Devils raced out to a 3-0 lead in the series finale, but the Canes rallied with four goals in the second period to tie the score at 4-4. Sebastian Aho’s snap shot on the power play was the tying goal and he scored the winner in double overtime with another man-advantage goal.

Carolina was relentless in the third period and the two overtimes to outshoot the injury-riddled Devils 34-12 over that span.

The opening round served four well-made appetizers. The second round features four talented and driven teams that will try to prove themselves championship worthy.