5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2

TORONTO -- Fresh off their historic upset of the Bruins, the Panthers carried that momentum straight into a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the second round at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

After trailing the Bruins 3-1 in Round 1, the Panthers have won four straight games.

"We like our game right now," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "Playoffs, anything can happen. You say run, but everyone's on a run right now. We've still got a lot of hockey left. We're obviously happy with that win. That's one, but we need to get three more."

For a quick recap of the game, click HERE.

To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. PK COMES UP BIG

The PK came up big for the Panthers in Game 1.

Keeping the Maple Leafs off the board early, the Panthers killed off a pair of penalties within the first seven minutes of the first period.

Facing another power play in the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky made three huge stops.

"The PK was dialed in," Bobrovsky said. "Lots of blocked shots, lots of good sticks."

Helping the Panthers go a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, Aleksander Barkov racked up a team-high 4:33 of shorthanded ice time, while Sam Reinhart saw 3:47. On the back end, Aaron Ekblad (3:42) and Gustav Forsling (3:48) led Florida's blueliners in ice time on the penalty kill.

Overall, the Panthers limited Toronto's power play to just two high-danger shot attempts.

"Our penalty kill was huge," forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "That's something we rely on."

2. CUZZY KICKS IT OFF

Nick Cousins continues to flourish on the second line.

Opening the scoring for the Panthers in Game 1, the hard-nosed forward followed up on a shot from Matthew Tkachuk and cashed in on the rebound to make it 1-0 at 9:25 of the first period.

With that goal, Florida is now 5-0 in the playoffs when scoring first.

"It's huge, especially on the road," Cousins said of breaking the ice. "It kind of lets everyone settle in a little bit and take a deep breath. Their crowd is obviously into it and really excited."

Since being placed alongside Tkachuk and Bennett, Cousins has posted three points (one goal, two assists) and seven shots on goal in four games. Against Toronto in Game 1, the Panthers led 15-5 in shot attempts and 8-3 in scoring chances when that line was deployed at 5-on-5.

"Those two are really incredible players," Cousins said of his linemates. "They see the ice really well and make a ton of plays. I'm just out there trying to keep it simple, do my work along the boards and get to the net. We've got some chemistry, so now we've just got to keep it going."

3. CHUCK THIS OUT

The Maple Leafs have a problem.

That problem has a name.

That name is Tkachuk.

An absolute force on the ice from start to finish in Game 1, Tkachuk dished out three assists and racked up a career-high nine hits. Extending is playoff point streak to five games, the 25-year-old superstar now sits alone atop the NHL's postseason scoring leaderboard with 14 points.

When Tkachuk was on the ice at 5-on-5 against Toronto, the Panthers led 26-8 in shot attempts, 13-5 in shots on goal and 11-4 in high-danger shot attempts. Keeping the Maple Leafs pinned in their zone with a wicked forecheck, Florida also owned 69.26% of expected goals in that time.

"His game has been pure production and compete," head coach Paul Maurice said.

Making even more history, if you add the 14 points that he's posted in the playoffs to the career-high 109 points (40 goals, 69 points) that he accumulated during the regular season, Tkachuk has now tallied the most combined points by a Panther in a single season in franchise history.

Not a bad first season in South Florida, right?

4. SWAGGY'S SNIPE

There goes that man again.

Shifting momentum back in Florida's favor after the Maple Leafs turned a 2-0 game into a 2-2 game, Verhaeghe slipped behind the defense and collected a pass from Anthony Duclair before beating Ilya Samsonov on a breakaway to make it 3-2 with only 2:13 left in the second period.

With that, the Panthers were able to exhale during the second intermission.

"Duke made a great play to me," Verhaeghe said of the clutch sequence. "Any time you can get a goal at the end of a period, it's huge. Instead of going in tied, you go up a goal. It's huge. It kind of settles you down after the period and you take a deep breath."

Big goals are what Verhaeghe has been all about ever since he joined the Panthers.

A year removed from scoring the series-clinching goal in Round 1 against the Capitals in 2022, he buried the winner in Game 7 at Boston on Sunday in overtime. Over the past two seasons, the 27-year-old sniper leads the entire NHL in game-winning goals during the postseason with six.

Also making franchise history, his 11 career playoff goals are the most ever by a Panther.

5. BOB-WALL-SKY

Bobrovsky was nothing short of a beast in Game 1.

Finishing with 34 saves, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner was at his best in crunch time late in the third period. With the Panthers leading 4-2, he stopped a whopping nine shots over the last 2:30 of regulation, including robbing William Nylander of a goal with a timely toe save.

"I just got lucky," Bobrovsky, humble as ever, said of the highlight-reel stop on Nylander. "The opponent sold a good shot, and I just throw my leg and it hit my toe. It was just lucky."

Of his 34 saves, 13 were considered high-danger by NaturalStatTrick.com.

Particularly strong against Toronto's power play, he stopped all nine shots he saw on the PK.

"He's been awesome," Cousins said. "He's seeing the puck really well. He's playing with lots of confidence. The second period he kept us in it, and he made some really big saves in the third as well. I thought that he was our best player tonight."

Earning his fourth straight this postseason, Bobrovsky is now tied with John Vanbiesbrouck for the longest playoff winning streak by a goalie in franchise history. Since stepping back into the crease in Game 3 against Boston, he's posted a strong .937 save percentage at even strength.

As they always say, there's nothing more valuable in the playoffs than a hot goaltender.

"I stay with the moment and don't really think about where my game is," Bobrovsky said. "I'm enjoying playing playoff hockey, enjoying being part of this team and part of this great group of guys. I'm just fortunate to be here."