The Toronto Maple Leafs are leading their second-round series against the Florida Panthers 2-0. The two teams will head to Florida for games three and four. Through eight games in the 2025 NHL playoffs, the Leafs have a 6-2 record. As impressive as that is, most of their victories have come in close games. The Leafs are winning these close-scoring games because they're battling on every shift.
This year's Toronto Maple Leafs team looks and feels different. They are on the verge of doing something never seen in the Auston Matthews era: making it to the Conference Finals. We're no longer watching the Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe Maple Leafs; we're enjoying the Brad Treliving and Craig Berube Leafs. The overall team structure feels different, and fans can thank the Leafs GM, Brad Treliving, and head coach Craig Berube for that.
The players that Treliving has brought in are crucial members of this team. Anthony Stolarz (until he got injured) was playing incredibly in the Leafs net. Chris Tanev, Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have all come up big defensively in helping the Leafs win these close-scoring games. Max Domi, Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz, and Max Pacioretty have all contributed in one way or another to propel the Leafs to victory.
Head coach Craig Berube is doing an impeccable job to get the most out of his players. The Leafs players have completely bought into Berube's system, and it's working. No matter who is on the ice, every player is battling for the puck. Fans are witnessing a level of resilience from the players that has not been seen in Toronto in over 20 years. At the beginning of the season, many were comparing Berube to former Leafs coaches Pat Burns and Pat Quinn. After a full season, and into the second round of the playoffs, it's easy to see why.
Burns and Quinn were both able to get their version of the Leafs to the conference finals. Berube is two wins away from doing the same with this Leafs group. First, they need to knock off the reigning Stanley Cup champions, which ironically is something the Leafs haven't done since 1967; the last year the Leafs won the Stanley Cup. The Leafs are 11-0 in a best-of-seven series when leading the series 2-0, while the Panthers are 0-5 when falling behind 2-0 in a best-of-seven series. The Leafs and their fans can only hope that all of these trends continue.