PREVIEW: Panthers carrying same underdog mentality into series with Leafs

TORONTO --The Panthers don't have any time to bask in their win over the Bruins.

Less than 48 hours after pulling off one of the all-time great playoff upsets, the Panthers will kick off their second-round series against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

"We almost view them as the same team in some of their structure," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked to compare the Bruins and Maple Leafs. "They collapse heavily to the net-front. They're very dynamic off the rush and thy make plays off the rush.

"In terms of maybe how they move the puck and how they defend, a lot of that's similar. The difference is there's a different speed element, we think, and there's a different set of hands, a different kind of offensive plays that they make -- the shot tips, some of the back-door tips."

Still glowing from their 4-3 overtime win in Game 7 win at Boston on Sunday, the Panthers sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world when they erased a 3-1 series deficit to take down the Bruins, who entered the postseason riding high after setting a new NHL record for wins with 65.

After Matthew Tkachuk lit the lamp in overtime in Game 5 to get the series back to Sunrise, several Panthers got in on the scoring action during a 7-5 win in Game 6 at FLA Live Arena.

Having put in all that work, was there any question they wouldn't finish it off?

After Brandon Montour kept the dream of an upset alive by scoring with just one minute left in regulation to tie the game 3-3 in Game 7, Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Sam Bennett and buried the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Panthers into Round 2 for the second straight year.

"It's a very quick turnaround, but one that we're certainly excited about," Tkachuk said. "Not many people thought that we'd be in this position. A very similar series for us, though. There's not a lot of people out there that think we're going to pull this one off, just like they didn't think we'd pull the last one off."

Seemingly built in a playoff-hockey lab, Tkachuk, who tallied a career-high 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) this season, led the Panthers with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in Round 1. Not too far behind, Montour and Verhaeghe each finished with eight points.

Setting a franchise record for the most goals scored by a defenseman in a playoff series, Montour, continuing his season-long breakout, found the back of the net five times against Boston. Also getting in on the goal-scoring action, Sam Reinhart scored in four of seven games in Round 1.

Entering the series against the Bruins during a relief appearance in Game 3, Sergei Bobrovsky went on to start each of the next four games. Over the rest of the series, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner owned a .939% save percentage at 5-on-5 while making 24 high-danger saves.

In Game 5, his buzzer-beating stop at the end of regulation saved the season.

"The one thing that brought us together last series is we knew that we were the crazy underdog story," said Tkachuk, who clearly fed off that underdog energy all series long. "That doesn't change this series. Boston did what they did, but Toronto was the one team was right behind."

Knocking the Lightning out of the playoffs in Round 1, the Maple Leafs shook off a 7-3 loss in Game 1 before winning three of the next four games to close out the series in six. A hard-fought series, three of the six games went to overtime, including the decisive Game 6 at Tampa Bay.

In that series-clinching game, Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, a name known all too well to Panthers fans, scored the game-winning goal in the extra frame to send the Lightning packing.

After leading Toronto in scoring with a career-high 99 points (30 goals, 69 assists), Mitch Marner has registered a team-high 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the playoffs. Auston Matthews, who took home the Hart Trophy in 2022, has scored a team-high five goals.

Starting all six games in Round 1, Ilya Samsonov posted a .900 save percentage in the series.

"I think it's the same as with all good players," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said when asked about the defensive challenge in the series. "Take away their time and space and don't let them feel good with the puck. Overall, we have to know who's on the ice, play together and play tight."

Very familiar with the Maple Leafs, the Panthers faced them four times throughout the regular season and came away with points in three of those meetings. In fact, Florida's late-season surge just to get into the playoffs was ignited by a 3-2 overtime win at Toronto on March 29.

Starting with that win, the Panthers went on to string together a six-game winning streak and flip the script on their season.

"We were able to get the ball rolling and ended up clinching a few weeks later," Tkachuk said.

Back to where their push began, the Panthers don't plan to stop pushing now.

THEY SAID IT

"We just need to keep going, keep playing the same way, playing together and playing with the same confidence. We know it's going to be a hard series again, but we need to start good and keep going." - Anton Lundell on the keys to Game 1

"He's someone that's personally taken my game and made me a way better player. For that, I thank him. What he was able to do with our team in preparing us, especially in that first round, he's coached a long time and been around the game a ton. He was definitely a calming influence for us and allowed us to prepare." - Matthew Tkchuk on the impact of Paul Maurice

"As much as the series ending was critically important, we were kind of living that day for a whole week going into it." - Paul Maurice on the Panthers playing under pressure

PLAYOFF LEADERS

Panthers

Goals: Tkachuk (5), Montour (5)

Assists:Tkachuk (6), Verhaeghe (6)

Points: Tkachuk (11)

Maple Leafs

Goals: Matthews (5)

Assists: Marner (9)

Points:Marner (11)

PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards

Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair

Nick Cousins - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart

Colin White - Eric Staal - Zac Dalpe

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal - Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura - Radko Gudas

Goaltenders

Sergei Bobrovsky

Alex Lyon

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

- April 25:D Lucas Carlsson loaned to Charlotte (AHL)

- April 22: D Lucas Carlsson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)

- April 17:F Zac Dalpe recalled from Charlotte (AHL)

HOW TO WATCH

When: Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET

Where:Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON

TV & Streaming: ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS

Radio:790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM Streaming Channel 932; NHL App

Watch Party: Backyard in Fort Lauderdale

PREGAME LISTEN

Look back on Florida's historic first-round upset over Boston in this week's episode of Territory Talk.