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The Maple Leafs lose to the Florida Panthers 5–4 in overtime

Originally posted on 6IX ON ICE | By Anthony William | Last updated May 10, 2025 1:06 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Game 3 in Florida with a 2–0 series lead. Game 3 was going to be the Maple Leafs’ biggest test as the Florida Panthers would look to avoid going down 3–0 in the series. The Panthers also made lineup changes ahead of Game 3 by swapping out their fourth line and swapping Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe on the top two lines.

Fortunately, these changes paid off for Paul Maurice and the Panthers, winning the game 5–4 in overtime. Let’s take a look at the main storylines coming out of last night’s game.

Maple Leafs’ offence is still producing

It was the third game in a row where the Maple Leafs scored four or more goals. In the 2023 series against the Panthers, the Maple Leafs only scored two goals in each of the five games. So far, they have scored 13 goals in four games.

Matthew Knies opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the first period from a Mitch Marner point shot. John Tavares scored a goal in the first period on a beautiful wraparound. The Maple Leafs would head into the first intermission 2–1.

Tavares would add a second goal on the power play in the second period, giving the Maple Leafs a 3–1 lead. Even the defence got in the scoring with playoff Morgan Rielly scoring his fourth of the postseason to force overtime. Nine of Rielly’s 15 career playoff goals have either been game-tying goals or go-ahead goals.

Many of the goals are what you want to see in the playoffs. Get bodies in front to take away the eyes of Sergei Bobrovsky or cause chaos in front, get the puck on net, and hammer in the rebound. If the Maple Leafs continue to do this, they will continue to score.

The second-period collapse

The second period was the turning point of last night’s game. The Maple Leafs took a commanding 3–1 lead into the second, with a goal by Tavares three minutes in. However, as expected, the Panthers would push back in a must-win game. The Panthers scored two goals within a minute to tie the game. Craig Berube called a timeout to settle down his bench.

The Maple Leafs were starting to build momentum, finally getting some offensive zone pressure in back-to-back shifts of what was largely a Panthers-dominated second period. However, the fourth line for the Panthers scored on a floater that Joseph Woll would probably want back:

Tomas Nosek gives Florida the lead pic.twitter.com/nXMwulIrJt
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 10, 2025

The Panthers would shut down the Maple Leafs and close out the second period with a one-goal lead heading into the intermission. They did an excellent job of being first to the puck in their zone and quickly moving the puck to the high forwards.

The Panthers were also able to maintain puck possession in the Maple Leafs’ zone, which allowed them to generate chance after chance in the second period. The Maple Leafs finished the night with 20 blocks to the Panthers’ 14, which speaks to their ability to get in the shooting lanes as they’ve done all period.

The Maple Leafs fought back

We can dwell on the fact that the Maple Leafs gave up the two-goal lead in the second period. We can also dwell on the fact that for the first half of the third period, the Maple Leafs looked flat. However, it’s unrealistic for a team to completely dominate the other team for a full 60 minutes in the playoffs. Especially against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Sometimes, all it takes is a little puck luck, and Rielly’s tying goal goes off a Panthers defender and into the net.

From that point on, the Maple Leafs came alive. They continued to push the pace, and this trend continued in overtime. The Maple Leafs outplayed the Panthers for the majority of the overtime period, including two partial breakaways from William Nylander and Matthew Knies. The Maple Leafs fought back, and one more bounce, they would’ve won the game and been up 3–0 in the series.

Even though the Maple Leafs lost the game, they looked much different than previous iterations. They looked calmer, poised, and didn’t panic. For example, the Maple Leafs consistently spent extra time circling back into their own zone to get the proper breakout they wanted, or to allow for their teammates to complete line changes. Prior Maple Leafs teams would frantically try to push the puck forward, which would have caused an odd-man rush coming back.

Prior Maple Leafs teams would have also given up after the Panthers made it 4–3 heading into the third period. However, this team fought back, tied it, and almost won it in overtime. This team looks different. Clearly they are coached differently, which has led to the most playoff wins in the Auston Matthews era.

Onto the next

I think what makes this heartbreaking is that the Maple Leafs were one goal away from taking a 3–0 series lead. It’s hard to be disappointed with how the Maple Leafs played overall. But sometimes you get lucky bounces, or in the case of the Panthers, three bounces. It’s part of the adversity that the Maple Leafs will have to battle through.

The Maple Leafs play Game 4 in Florida on Sunday, leading the series 2–1. If the Maple Leafs can pull it off and take a 3–1 series lead to Toronto, they would have three kicks at the can to close out the series. If the series goes back to Toronto tied, it’s practically a new series. The outcome of Game 4 could completely change the series.

This article first appeared on 6IX ON ICE and was syndicated with permission.

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