5 takeaways from Leafs-Panthers Game 2: Nylander, Pacioretty lead attack, Woll improves through contest

Marching into the early stages of summer, it’s becoming abundantly clear that past precedent holds no weight over this year’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Squaring off against a cagey Florida Panthers team that dominated possession, the Maple Leafs emerged with a 4-3 victory and enter the weekend with a commanding 2-0 series lead.

It required a combination of the Core, and the new-look Leafs, a timely clearance from Jake McCabe and a resolute performance from Joseph Woll, but the Maple Leafs earned their sixth win of the postseason, ten wins away from the party of a lifetime.

Aleksander Barkov opened the scoring for the Panthers, but Max Pacioretty responded back with a power play goal to close out the first frame. Brad Marchand scored 15 seconds into the second period, but William Nylander equalized for the Maple Leafs in the second period, while Max Domi added another key goal off for the rush for a 3-2 lead at the intermission. Anton Lundell got on the board for the Panthers early in the third period, but a Mitch Marner wrist shot from the blue line 17 seconds later fooled Sergei Bobrovsky, as the Leafs held on for the victory.

Here are five takeaways from the Leafs’ win over the Panthers

• Max Pacioretty perhaps best embodies why the new-look Maple Leafs can’t be concerned with past results. Pacioretty has been on fire since entering the playoff lineup in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Ottawa Senators, impacting every aspect of the game. Craig Berube made it clear that Pacioretty is doing more than just scoring, as he added five hits and disrupted the Panthers from getting clean exits throughout the night. Pacioretty set up William Nylander’s goal off the rush in the second period, shaking off Seth Jones, before finding his star linemate to tie the game. Pacioretty and Nylander, centred by John Tavares, have been Toronto’s best line through the opening two games of the series, they are creating chances with sustained zone time and off the rush, and they’ve largely outplayed Florida’s dominant checking line of Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.
• The same couldn’t be said of Toronto’s top line featuring Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, although there are clear caveats: Marner wasn’t particularly effective throughout the night, but he also scored the timeliest goal of his career, the game-winner in Game 2, during a postseason that, perhaps fair or not, could define his legacy to date. Matthews wasn’t nearly as effective against Barkov as he was in Game 1, and Florida’s captain beat him cleanly in the faceoff dot, before wiring home the game’s opening goal. Knies is the exception, as his physical play, ability to get to the net-front and his underrated work on the penalty kill shone brightly throughout the contest. Considering that the Leafs are up 2-0 on the Panthers without a goal from Matthews, positive regression will be welcomed in Sunrise this weekend.
• Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev are the Maple Leafs’ shutdown pairing, and while it wasn’t always an easy contest, both of their games can be summarized by a pair of clutch clearances. McCabe continued to suppress the Panthers from entering the offensive zone, but his greatest contribution came in the third period, where he cleared a trickling puck out of the crease, and away from danger. Tanev outmuscled Carter Verhaeghe to swat away a potentially game-tying goal, then laboured after taking a hit from the Panthers’ winger. He fought back, and re-entered the game, while blocking five shots in the winning effort. These are the winning plays that sometimes get lost in the shuffle, but have to be accounted for when telling the story of the Leafs’ Game 2 victory.
• Joseph Woll improved as the game wore on and he clearly outplayed Sergei Bobrovsky. Woll was beat cleanly by Barkov for the game’s opening goal and it’s hard to assign fault there. Brad Marchand’s goal was the result of a brutal turnover from Morgan Rielly (his lone real blemish in a strong showing otherwise) although Woll dropped to the ground too early, and should have made a better effort on Lundell’s tally. Woll made several strong saves in the final frame, robbing Mackie Samoskevich with a toe save, then stopped Niko Mikkola from point-blank range in the dying minutes. It’s the type of performance Woll can certainly build off, entering Game 3 in Sunrise.
• Aaron Ekblad returned from suspension and the Panthers tilted the ice when he played at 5-on-5. He set up Lundell’s game-tying goal in the third period and you could make a strong argument that he was Florida’s best overall defenceman in his return to action. Gustav Forsling isn’t dominating opponents to the same degree that he did last year, but it’s clear that Ekblad’s presence allows Forsling to play to his strengths and get into gaps with relative ease. It was a quietly strong performance that ultimately won’t count for much, as the Panthers desperately need to win Game 3 on Friday.