Florida Panthers Will Face Toronto Maple Leafs in Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Florida Panthers will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On Wednesday, Florida wrapped up business in its first round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, taking down the cross-state opponent in just five games — with a 6-3 victory in the clinching series clinching Game 5.
Toronto defeated the Ottawa Senators in six games, with a 4-2 win in Game 6 on Thursday night to punch its ticket to round two for just the second time since 2004.
This is the second time the Panthers and Leafs will meet in the playoffs; Florida won the only previous meeting in 2023, defeating Toronto in five games of the second round. 10 members of the current Panthers team also played in that series.
With the Leafs being the higher seed as the Atlantic Division champions, the first two games of the series will be in Toronto.
There will be some familiarity when the two teams meet. Three former Panthers — and members of the 2024 Stanley Cup winning team — are currently with the Leafs: Steven Lorentz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Dates and start times for the series are to be determined.
The confrontation was really interesting, especially when both teams were in good form, similar to overcoming obstacles in tap road both brought tension but skillful victories.