PREVIEW: Panthers look to keep on rolling in Game 2 at Toronto

TORONTO --The Florida Panthers will look to keep on rolling when they continue their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs with Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

With their win in Game 1, the Panthers pushed their playoff winning streak to four games.

That being said, each game presents a new challenge.

"Not a big, big believer in momentum," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "I'm really not. It changes every time the puck drops. [Last game], we make 2-0 and we're probably feeling pretty good about our game, then it's 2-1 and they're rolling. It'll get reestablished the minute puck drops."

Even with only one day to catch their breath after eliminating the 65-win Bruins in seven games in Round 1, the Panthers didn't look the least bit tired during Game 1 against Toronto on Tuesday.

After killing off a pair of early power plays for the Maple Leafs, Nick Cousins opened the scoring with a rebound goal to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 9:25 of the first period. A crucial early strike in enemy territory, the Panthers currently sit at 5-0 in the playoffs when scoring first.

Not long after Sam Bennett doubled the lead to 2-0 at 7:58 of the second period when he tipped in a point shot from Aaron Ekblad, the Maple Leafs pulled even when rookie Matthew Knies and Michael Bunting lit the lamp at 8:09 and 14:51, respectively, to suddenly bring the score to 2-2.

Stealing all of that momentum back for the Panthers, Carter Verhaeghe stopped that mid-game push for the Maple Leafs when he beat Ilya Samsonov on a breakaway to make it 3-2 at 17:47.

"Any time you can get a goal at the end of a period, it's huge," Verhaeghe said. "Instead of going in tied, you go up a goal. It settles you down after the period and you take a deep breath."

The NHL's leader in goals by defenseman in the playoffs, Brandon Montour extended the lead to 4-2 at 12:24 of the third period when he blasted a slap shot through traffic and into the net. His sixth goal of the postseason, he's found the back of the net four times in his last three contests.

Shutting the door on the Maple Leafs, Sergei Bobrovsky, who finished with 34 saves, stopped nine shots over the last 2:30 of regulation -- including making a stunning toe save on a golden opportunity for William Nylander -- to lock down an impressive win for the Panthers in Game 1.

On top of his game, Bobrovsky is 4-1 with a .937 even-strength save percentage in the playoffs.

"He's been unreal," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said of Bobrovsky, who began the playoffs backing up late-season hero Alex Lyon. "It's very fun to watch him. He stuck with it even when he wasn't playing. Very impressive. That's the guy he is."

In addition to timely goals and strong goaltending, the Panthers went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and also out-hit the Maple Leafs 47-36. Ramping up their physicality in the playoffs, the Panthers rank second in the NHL with 314 hits through eight postseason games.

During Game 1, a team-high nine of those hits came from Matthew Tkachuk.

A truly elite playoff performer, Tkachuk was one of the driving forces behind Florida's success throughout the game. In addition to his hits, he also dished out three assists, with two of them being primary. Whenever he got knocked down, he got back up and threw a huge hit of his own.

"That's playoff hockey," said Tkachuk, who ranks second in NHL playoff scoring with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). "You've got to take a few hits to make plays at this time of year. Dish 'em out, and you've got to take 'em."

When the line of Tkachuk, Bennett and Cousins was deployed at 5-on-5, the Panthers led 15-5 in shot attempts and 8-3 in scoring chances, while also controlling 74.74% of all expected goals in Game 1.

By comparison, the Panthers did a great job of containing Toronto's top players. Despite being loaded with talent, the line of Knies, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews mustered just seven shot attempts over 8:28 of ice time at 5-on-5 while owning a sub-50% share of expected goals.

Heading into Game 2, trying to keep Toronto's stars in check will continue to be key.

In saying that, Florida's defensemen know they need to have eyes in the back of their heads.

"They're very skilled and fast," Forsling said. "They've got a bunch of guys you need to keep an eye on. They're sneaking a little behind you, so you've always got to be ready. Every team has players like that, so we've just got to keep an eye behind us."

THEY SAID IT

"I think you need to have some success in anything that you do to continue to run the program that you're running or you've got to change your program. The playoffs usually don't give you enough time to change your program. Every time you do something that works, it gets reinforced on your bench." - Paul Maurice on having confidence reinforced by results

"He's playing with so much confidence. He's someone most guys would hate to play against. He's so good at taking time and space away, so smart. I think we've been reading off each other pretty well." - Sam Reinhart on linemate Eetu Luostarinen

"We got that win, that's the biggest thing. I liked our PK. We did a good job. Overall, we got the win, but there's a lot of areas we can be better in, too." - Gustav Forsling on Game 1

PLAYOFF LEADERS

Panthers

Goals:Montour (6)

Assists:Tkachuk (9)

Points:Tkachuk (14)

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: Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. ET

Where:Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON

TV & Streaming: TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS

Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM Streaming Channel 932; NHL App

Watch Party:Funky Buddha Brewery

PREGAME LISTEN

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