Florida reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice improved his record in Game 7's to 6-0.
The Panthers now have a 4-1 Game 7 all-time record in franchise history. The Cats won two Game 7 contests last year on their way to their first Stanley Cup title. Brad Marchand played in his 13th Game 7 in his postseason career and won his fifth Game 7 over Toronto.
The Maple Leafs were unable to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002. The Leafs tied an NHL record with a seventh straight Game 7 loss. The last time Toronto captured the Stanley Cup was in 1967. Their 58-year drought is the longest futility streak in National Hockey League history.
The Panthers chalked up the first seven shots on goal in the opening frame and played impressive defense early in the game. It took Toronto over 11 minutes into the contest to get their first shot on goal. They would compile six more unanswered shots on goal. Neither team scored during the first period.
The Cats scored three goals in a 6:24 span and had a three-goal margin early in the second. Florida made it 1-0 at the 3:15 mark of the second period. Aleksander Barkov backhanded the puck out of his own zone and Evan Rodrigues backhanded it forward from the red line. Seth Jones carried the puck into the Maple Leafs zone and scored his third playoff goal on a wrist shot from the right-circle dot by Joseph Woll.
The Panthers expanded their lead to 2-0 at 7:18. Marchand took a shot from the right wing that was deflected by Eetu Luostarinen and saved. Anton Lundell put in the rebound on a wrist shot from the top of the crease for his fourth goal of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Cats increased it to 3-0 with 10:21 to go in the second. Jones raced into the Leafs zone and made a drop pass from the left wing and an A.J. Greer shot was stopped. He got to the rebound in the low left circle and fed a pass to the middle. Jonah Gadjovich swept it in on a forehand shot from the crease area for his second goal of the series.
Toronto got on the scoreboard at the 2:05 mark of the third period. Bobby McMann sent a long diagonal pass from the Maple Leafs zone. Max Domi snapped a shot from the inner left circle past Sergei Bobrovsky for his third postseason goal. It was Domi's 10th career playoff goal and fourth career goal in a Game 7 contest.
Florida regained a three-goal gap 4-1 just 47 seconds later. Marchand passed it from the left wing and it was redirected in by Luostarinen from the left of the crease for his third playoff tally.
It became 5-1 for the Panthers with 10:36 remaining in the third. Barkov won a left-circle faceoff and Sam Reinhart fired a snap shot from above the left circle for his fourth goal in the postseason.
Marchand gave Florida a 6-1 lead with an empty-net goal from his own zone with 3:03 left. Luostarinen was credited with an assist on the play.
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