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Maple Leafs get humiliated in dreadful Game 5 performance
It is all slipping away in the playoffs from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Again.
After winning the first two games of the second-round series against the Florida Panthers, the Maple Leafs are now on the brink of elimination following a dreadful, horrific performance in Game 5 of the series on Wednesday night.
Florida ended up winning the pivotal game by a 6-1 margin, and it was probably not even as close as the final score.
Simply put, this was domination by a Florida team that has shown it can win big games in the spring.
It was also another example of how the Maple Leafs just keep finding new ways to crumble and fold when the pressure gets turned up at the same time of year.
This game seemed to be over from the opening puck drop, as Florida just completely overwhelmed the Maple Leafs with its aggressive forecheck and physical play, setting the tone for what was going to be a laughably one-sided game. Along with the 6-1 final score, Florida ended up finishing the night with a 77-53 edge in total shot attempts and a 38-21 advantage in total scoring chances.
Things got so bad that fans started littering the ice with jerseys late in the third period.
Leafs fans are throwing their jerseys on the ice pic.twitter.com/dOla7nM8aN
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 15, 2025
Making matters worse for the Maple Leafs — this wasn't even a case of the Panthers stars beating them.
It was Florida's depth players who came through as Dmitry Kulikov, Jesper Boqvist, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer were among the goal-scorers. All four of them scored their first goal of the playoffs. Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett also scored in the win.
But perhaps even more concerning for the Maple Leafs is that this was another game where their own stars — specifically forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner — were complete no-shows when the team needed them most. This has been a recurring theme in the Leafs' nine playoff appearances with this core, and it is consistently one of the biggest issues in their repeated early exits.
Since returning to the playoffs during the 2016-17 season, the Toronto core, led by Matthews and Marner, has advanced beyond the first round just two times. Including this year's wins in Games 1 and 2 of this series, they have won only three games in the second round. Matthews, one of the league's best goal scorers, has never scored a postseason goal in the second round of the playoffs.
After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, the Maple Leafs had a 3-1 lead halfway through Game 3 of the series and looked to be in the driver's seat for the series. After blowing it and losing in overtime, they have been outscored by an 8-1 margin. It is a 12-2 margin if you go back to the third period of Game 3.
All of that is just simply unacceptable, and it makes Game 6 of the series later this week yet another potential legacy-defining game for this core. If they lose that game, or even a potential Game 7, in the exact same manner they have been losing these games with no-shows from their stars, there is no way this core can be brought back for another season.
Marner and John Tavares are already likely to go as pending unrestricted free agents. It might not — and perhaps should not — stop there.
More must-reads:
- Group effort leads Panthers to easy 6-1 win over Leafs in Game 5
- Flyers expected to name Rick Tocchet as new HC
- The '2024-25 NHL points leaders' quiz
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