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Mitch Marner's Immediate Reaction After Maple Leafs' Second Straight Win Over Panthers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated May 8, 2025 5:38 AM ET

Mitch Marner’s third-period goal lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Marner’s go-ahead goal came after Toronto had already clawed back twice from one-goal deficits.

The Leafs first tied the game late in the first period with a Max Pacioretty tip-in, power-play goal, and again in the second when William Nylander finished a two-on-one.

Max Domi then scored to give Toronto its first lead of the game at 17:09 in the second frame, but the Panthers' Anton Lundell tied it for Florida early in the third.

"It's a special one for sure. I can't wait to get home and give him a kiss."

Mitch Marner chats with @sportsnetkyle about what it means for his first goal as a father to be a game winner in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/sUbIQvxfF7
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 8, 2025

Moments after sealing the win with a shot through traffic just 17 seconds after Lundell's goal, Marner took a moment during his on-ice interview with Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas.

Marner highlighted the importance of the moment, reflecting on his newborn son, Miles Daniel, who was born on Sunday morning.

“It’s really special,” Marner said. “My wife was a warrior all week. It’s a special one for sure. I can’t wait to get home and give him a kiss.”

Woll, starting in place of the injured Anthony Stolarz, made 25 saves, including a critical stop on Brad Marchand in the third period.

“We’re just trying to keep our calmness,” Marner said. “It’s going to be a roller-coaster ride throughout every game. There’s going to be different ups and downs throughout everything. We’re playing a heck of a hockey team over there and you know they’re going to come with everything especially when they’re down goals, and for us, it’s just trying to stay even-keeled throughout it all.

”Try to just focus on your next shift. You can’t change anything in the past, so just stay in the present, stay in the moment, try to do your thing, and luckily enough I threw a puck on net and it went in.”

The win puts the Maple Leafs up 2-0 in the series as it shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is set for Friday night, where the Panthers will attempt to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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