May 16, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the third period in game six of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Maple Leafs Stay Alive, Force Game 7 Against Panthers

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Matt Nidiffer | Last updated May 16, 2025 10:53 PM ET

The Florida Panthers dropped Game 6 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs at home by a score of 2-0. After being dominated by the Panthers in Game 5, the Maple Leafs managed to stave off defeat for at least one more game to bring the series count to 3-3 heading back to Toronto.

The Maple Leafs had a few lineup changes for Game 6; forwards Nick Robertson and David Kampf were scratched in favor of Pontus Holmberg slotting in on line two, and Calle Jarnkrok slotting in on the Maple Leafs’ third line; at the other end of the ice, Evan Rodrigues remained sidelined for the Panthers. The Panthers were the first team to get an opportunity with the man advantage on two separate occasions in the first period, but the Maple Leafs managed to successfully kill both of them off. Sergei Bobrovsky robbed Matthew Knies on a beauty of a netfront chance with an even better kick save, and the first period ended scoreless with shots favoring the Maple Leafs, 7-2.

The second period was almost as uneventful as the first; the game remained scoreless and shots favored Florida at the midway point of the period, 12-7. Both Knies and Auston Matthews left the game as well; Knies seemed to have tweaked something, and Matthews was high-sticked by Aleksander Barkov during a faceoff. Matthews returned moments later, and the Maple Leafs were ultimately awarded a power play. Matthews himself was called moments later for high-sticking, truncating the Maple Leafs’ power play. Neither team converted on their respective power plays, and the second period ended with shots still favoring Florida, 14-13.

The third period ramped up significantly in intensity compared to the first and second, but both teams refused to budge. With 13:40 remaining in the game, Matthews finally got a puck past Bobrovsky to break the scoreless tie and register his first goal of the series (just his third of the playoffs). The Maple Leafs widened their lead to two goals with roughly five minutes remaining in the game courtesy of Max Pacioretty, ultimately sealing the deal and forcing a Game 7 in Toronto.