The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a second-round battle with the Florida Panthers after knocking off the Ottawa Senators in the first round. Through the Leafs first seven games of these 2025 NHL playoffs, their unsung hero is Pontus Holmberg. He is quietly doing many good things for the Leafs, and his line has been a force to deal with every time they're on the ice.
Pontus Holmberg is not a name you hear mentioned often, but that's not always a bad thing. Yes, it's nice when Holmberg scores, but he brings many things to this Leafs lineup. Through seven games in these playoffs, Holmberg is leading all Leafs in expected goals-for-percentage (xGF%). He hasn't been on the ice for a goal against. His line with Max Domi and Bobby McMann brings a lot of energy. They've been good at keeping the puck in the offensive zone and creating scoring chances.
Holmberg and his line have earned the trust of head coach Craig Berube. When Holmberg is on the ice, the Leafs are controlling the puck close to 60% of the time (59.8%). When the puck is in the offensive zone, Berube trusts Holmberg and his linemates to keep it there. Their line has 61.5% offensive zone starts compared to 38.5% defensive zone starts. Holmberg and his linemates learned early in the Ottawa series what their role was and they're doing it well.
The Leafs will need the Holmberg line to continue doing what they're doing and be a thorn in the Panthers' paw all series. With the energy they bring, and the puck control they've been able to obtain, it's only a matter of time before that line puts a few more pucks in the net. So far, Max Domi is the only one to score a goal from that line. McMann had 20 goals during the regular season, and Holmberg had seven. As the series moves forward, and the Leafs top players get checked harder and boxed out more, it'll have to be players like Holmberg who step up and score some offense.
Holmberg and his linemates will look to continue being the Leafs spark plug when the Leafs host the Panthers on Wednesday night for game two of their best-of-seven second-round series. The Leafs with the help of Holmberg will try to take a 2-0 series lead before heading to Florida for Game 3 and Game 4.