The Toronto Maple Leafs held on to defeat the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
William Nylander scored twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs with Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, and Matthew Knies getting the tallies for the Leafs. Meanwhile, Seth Jones (PPG), Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinkskis, and Sam Bennett scored for the Florida Panthers.
So, let’s take a look at the three main takeaways from the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-4 Game 1 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night.
3 takeaways from Toronto Maple Leafs Game 1 over Florida Panthers
Leafs lose Stolarz to suspected concussion
The biggest storyline of the night was Sam Bennett’s intentional hit on Anthony Stolarz midway through the second period.
The replay clearly showed Bennett intentionally hitting Stolarz. Stolarz left the game due to concussion protocol, especially after keeling over on the bench.
Renowned sports physician Dr. Herjas Grewal Tweeted his opinion, stating:
“Bennett knew what he was doing here.”
There will likely be more information regarding Stolarz’s situation on Tuesday. However, it seems unlikely that Stolarz will be available for the next week or so.
Joseph Woll came in relief, but looked somewhat shaky, especially in the third period. The Leafs will be counting on Woll to be solid as he’ll be the guy for the next two to three games.
William Nylander scores twice
Willliam Nylander continues to lead the way for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He notched two goals and one assist for three points.
Nylander found the back of the net 33 seconds into the game. Here’s a look:
Nylander followed up his first tally with a second roughly 12 minutes later:
Nylander capped off a strong game by assisting on Morgan Rielly’s third goal of the postseason. All told, Nylander continues to elevate his postseason play, particularly on a night when Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews faced stiff opposition.
The Leafs held on down the stretch
While the Leafs surrendered three goals in the final frame, they did well to protect the lead. Two of the three Panthers’ third-period goals were somewhat fluky, giving Joseph Woll a pass in Game 1.
However, the Leafs must do a better job of tightening up down the stretch as they cannot afford to let a team like the Florida Panthers get back into the game. Toronto was fortunate to skate away with the all-important 1-0 series lead.
But if they keep playing this way, things could be radically different moving forward.
The Leafs and Panthers will face off on Wednesday night for Game 2, as the Leafs look to take a 2-0 lead to Florida for Games 3 and 4.