FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.鈥擳here were at least a couple of ways to look at the Maple Leafs鈥 5-4 overtime loss in Game 3 of their second-round series with the Florida Panthers.
You could spin it as a blown chance to bury the reigning Stanley Cup champs deep in a 3-0 series hole. Handing a team as accomplished as Florida the gift of renewed life is never optimal, especially in a game in which the Leafs carved out two separate two-goal leads. The Panthers are known around here as the Comeback Cats for a reason. It鈥檚 not an identity any opponent is wise to perpetuate, if they can help it.
But NHL precedent had good news for the Leafs. The Panthers were only the 11th team in the past 40 years to orchestrate a multi-goal comeback to avoid a 3-0 series deficit, according to NHL research. The previous 10 teams who pulled off such a Game 3 rally went a collective 2-8 in the series in question.
In other words, while it might make sense to see such a furious rally as a dramatic turning point, history suggests such comebacks are more often one-off blips. That makes sense. There鈥檚 usually a reason a team requires an improbable comeback to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole: Their opponent is really good.
Brad Marchand, whose 37th birthday will coincide with Sunday鈥檚 Game 4 here in South Florida, said as much in the aftermath of scoring Friday鈥檚 overtime winner. It was Marchand鈥檚 14th career playoff game-winning goal, most among active players. So the man knows his way around a playoff series.
Marchand said the Leafs had “that killer instinct” but his overtime goal gave the Panthers life
Marchand paid respect to the way the Leafs came to play Friday and said Game 3鈥檚 result will only matter if the Panthers follow it up in Game 4.
鈥淭hey have that killer instinct right now,鈥 Marchand said of the Leafs.
That鈥檚 high praise. Not that the Leafs didn鈥檛 spend Saturday answering questions of their own.
For one: How many goals do the Leafs need to feel safe with a lead? Speaking at their beachfront hotel here on Saturday, more than one player acknowledged that the visitors took their foot off the gas during Friday鈥檚 second period, when a 3-1 lead turned into a 4-3 deficit.
鈥淲e kind of gripped the stick a little bit too tight when we get the lead there,鈥 forward Matthew Knies said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e just got to keep our pressure up.鈥
For another: How many second-round playoff games will Toronto鈥檚 best player require to score a goal? Game 3 was the eighth second-round game of Auston Matthews鈥 career, all of them against the Panthers. He has yet to register a goal.
Matthews, the league鈥檚 highest-paid player, hasn鈥檛 been prolific in the post-season鈥檚 first round, either, relative to his historic regular-season production. Heading into Saturday, he was leading the Stanley Cup playoffs in one notable statistical category: missing the net. He was second in shots on goal, and a distant 54th in goals (two).
鈥淵eah, he needs to hit the net. He’s trying to hit the net; he鈥檚 not trying to miss the net,鈥 said 海角社区官网coach Craig Berube. 鈥淪o I’m not going to really elaborate on that too much.鈥
Teammates have lauded Matthews, who scored a career-low 33 goals during an injury-plagued regular season, for his 200-foot prowess. The Leafs have outscored the Panthers 4-1 at five-on-five when Matthews is on the ice against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
The six-foot-two winger remade his game this year, when injuries and the salary cap didn’t get
鈥淗e鈥檚 playing all over the ice extremely well, and as a teammate that鈥檚 what you notice first and foremost,鈥 said Max Pacioretty, the 36-year-old who also has two playoff goals. 鈥淔or us in that room, it鈥檚 not about looking at the stat sheet, the goal column. It鈥檚 what you do all over the ice.鈥
The Panthers, of course, have their own scoring problems. For all the talk of the power of their push, Marchand鈥檚 overtime winner banked off Morgan Rielly and the Panthers scored their first two goals Friday without shooting it in the net. The first, credited to Barkov, was a Rielly own goal. The second, credited to Sam Reinhart, was pushed across the goal-line by a pileup of net-front bodies. Reinhart, who scored 57 goals a couple of seasons ago, has three goals for the post-season.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice likened Reinhart to Matthews.
鈥淚t鈥檚 inevitable for both players. They鈥檙e both going to score,鈥 Maurice said.
What鈥檚 actually inevitable is that the puck will drop Sunday night. By that point, Berube can hope Friday鈥檚 disappointment will have faded and聽the Leafs will arrive with a replenished supply of the killer instinct of which Marchand speaks.
鈥淎fter (Game 3), everybody’s upset, obviously. You can really let it go the other way, or you can grab it, fix it, make some adjustments,鈥 Berube said. 鈥淲e knew this was going to be a long series 鈥 And we have an opportunity to go into (Game 4) and get a split (in Florida).鈥
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