Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews (34) consoles teammate Joseph Woll (60) in the final moments of third period NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action against the Florida Panthers, in Toronto, on May 18.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
After ending his first year in charge with a humiliating 6-1 Game 7 loss on home ice against the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews didn’t sugar-coat his explanation for the inept performance Sunday.
“Too many passengers,” was how the American centre, held to just one goal and four points in the series, described what unfolded in a one-sided game that Florida controlled from the opening faceoff, recording the first seven shots of the game and ultimately outshooting Toronto 34-20.
“I felt like we were ready to play, felt like we were in a good in a good mindset,” he said. “I thought the first 10 minutes they came out strong. And the next 10 minutes, I thought we controlled play, and then I just thought we had too many passengers throughout the rest of the game.”
Mitch Marner, who may have played his last game as a Maple Leaf with unrestricted free agency looming, concurred with his long-time linemate.
“That’s the right wording,” said the Leaf winger, who had five points in the seven-game series against Florida. “I would say that as well. Can’t have passengers in a Game 7.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube was at a loss for words when asked how his team could come up flat in two straight home games against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
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“So it just sucks. We all got to hold ourselves to higher accountability, and we all need to be better.”
Brad Marchand – who recorded his NHL record-tying eighth Game 7 with the victory – and Eetu Luostarinen led the way for Florida with three points each, while Seth Jones – who kick-started the rout with the opening goal in the second period – and Aleksander Barkov had two points each.
Max Domi, with his third of the playoffs, cut into that lead at the start of the third period, but Florida wiped that out 47 seconds later with a fourth goal and cruised in from there to advance to a third straight conference final. The defending Stanley Cup champions will begin the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., against the Carolina Hurricanes.
In Toronto, the wait to reach the third round of the playoffs goes on, now 23 years and counting following the team’s seventh straight Game 7 loss, which pulls them into a tie with the Colorado Avalanche for the longest such streak in NHL history.
And given how far off the team looks from a Stanley Cup – after back-to-back 6-1 losses on home ice to round out a second-round series Toronto had once led two games to none, and with a 2-0 and 3-1 lead in Game 3 – the mention of 1967 and the last NHL championship in this city seems as out of place as the jerseys that were being thrown on the ice towards the end of Sunday’s game.
Pain-generator Maple Leafs deliver emphatically once again
Certainly head coach Craig Berube, who was brought here to get this team over its playoff hump after winning the Stanley Cup in St. Louis six years ago, was at a loss to explain the two lopsided defeats.
“Game 5 and Game 7 at home.,” he said when asked to describe the biggest disappointments. “I thought we did a great job to fight for home ice. Had a good home record all year. To me, that’s the most disappointing part in the series.”
For the Maple Leafs, Sunday’s loss bookends yet another year of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens.
However, after six consecutive Game 7 losses for this group – and seven winner-take-all losses in total including the Game 5 loss to Columbus in the best-of-five pandemic playoff format – real, meaningful change to the playing staff may be upcoming.
The usual option to simply run things back may be off the table. Both Marner and John Tavares are unrestricted free agents, and it remains to be seen if there is the appetite and the stomach on both sides to get new deals done, even after both posted spectacular regular-season numbers.
“I don’t have any thoughts right now,” said Marner on his impending free agency. “I mean, yeah, [I’m] pretty devastated with what just happened. Yeah, devastated. I’ve always enjoyed this team and this city.”
Tavares, who signed a seven-year deal with his hometown club in 2018 with the hopes of chasing his first Stanley Cup, seemed disconsolate and almost at a loss for words at times after the final buzzer. As a player who will be 35 when the next season kicks off, there are only so many more kicks at the can, and time is running out for the former first overall pick.
“I know you guys will have your opinions, obviously management will make their decisions, but obviously, [this is] a very good team that’s done a lot of good things, just haven’t broken through,” he said. “So you know, never going to quit, never going to stop trying. So would love another opportunity.”
With jerseys and beer getting tossed on the ice as a chorus of boos picked up from the middle of the second period on – once the Leafs were down if not out with Florida into a 3-0 lead – it was a messy end to another season, both on the ice and off.
- Florida Panthers centre Anton Lundell scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll during the second period.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
- Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky poke checks Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg during the first period.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
- Pontus Holmberg of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles for the puck against Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Jonah Gadjovich of the Florida Panthers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Fans react as they watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Florida Panthers.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles against Evan Rodrigues of the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs checks Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Max Pacioretty of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during the second period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers defends the goal against Bobby McMann and Max Pacioretty of the Toronto Maple Leafs.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs makes a save against the Florida Panthers during the first period.Claus Andersen/Getty Images
- Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander controls the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones during the first period.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
- Fans react as they watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Florida Panthers.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
- Florida Panthers centre Evan Rodrigues fails to get the puck past Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll during the first period.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
- Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save as Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares and defenceman Niko Mikkola battle for position.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Joseph Woll, who made 28 saves on the 33 shots he faced, did as much as he could, but he was unable to match Sergei Bobrovsky with minimal fight or support from his teammates. The Russian netminder, who has already won two Vezina Trophies in his career, saved 19 of the 20 shots thrown at him, as he became the 10th goaltender in NHL history to win each of their first three Game 7s.
Like most of his teammates, Morgan Rielly, the longest-tenured Maple Leaf, could only watch as another promising season disappeared with a barely a whimper. Despite facing the media as each season ends and promising that the team will learn from its mistakes and be motivated by its playoff flops, he admitted that that’s not the frustrating part.
“The real frustration is about not moving on, on the ice,” he said. “I don’t care about this stuff. This is just part of it. The real frustration is there’s a game, there’s an Eastern Conference finals game happening in a couple days, and we’re not there.”
