SUNRISE 鈥� The Maple Leafs were on the front foot and had all the momentum.
Having fallen behind 2-0 early and 3-1 just three minutes into Friday's second period, the Florida Panthers looked to be teetering on the brink after suffering consecutive one-goal road losses to find themselves in a deep playoff hole.
Well-drilled at locking down opponents all season with a grinding style under head coach Craig Berube, Toronto appeared well on its way to a 3-0 stranglehold in this matchup of Atlantic Division titans.
The defending Stanley Cup champions pushed back 鈥� and refused to go away.
Brad Marchand scored the winner at 15:17 of overtime Friday on a deflected shot as the Panthers twice battled back from two-goal deficits to pick up a 5-4 victory and claw their way back into the teams' knife-edged second-round series.
The Leafs eventually responded and tied things midway through the third when defenceman Morgan Rielly's shot pinballed off Florida counterpart Seth Jones. Toronto then had a couple of great chances in the extra period before Marchand gave his group life.
Despite steadying themselves to get back on level terms, the visitors looked back on the middle period with regret 鈥� unable to match the Panthers' desperation.
"That lapse in the second and (allowing) them back in the game 鈥� just keep our foot on the pedal as much as possible," Toronto blueliner Jake McCabe said of what his team will be hoping to improve as it pivots to Sunday's Game 4 in the best-of-seven showdown.
"They're going to have their pushes, too, weather those and give them our own push like we did in the third. These games are tight. It's back-and-forth hockey."
The Leafs were resilient throughout the regular schedule and have maintained that in the playoffs. When the Ottawa Senators took momentum in the first round, Toronto usually had an answer.
The same was true through the first two games of this series 鈥� 5-4 and 4-3 victories on home ice. Toronto will need to draw on that experience after Florida tightened the screws inside a rocking Amerant Bank Arena.
"Playing our game for the whole 60 minutes," Berube said of his message moving forward. "We've got to be just direct with what we need to do."
Rielly, who along with scoring had two Florida goals go off him to beat Joseph Woll in Toronto's net, including Marchand's winner, said his group will have to match Florida's resolve.
"We expected it to be competitive," he said. "We expected them to be desperate, and they were."
Making his second straight start in place of the injured Anthony Stolarz, Woll allowed five goals on 36 shots.
"We've preached all year to play to our process, and regardless of how the game goes, what the score is, where the momentum is at, and sticking to that," he said. "We've done a good job of that over the course playoffs. That's what we fall back on."
Leafs centre John Tavares said his team 鈥� in the second round for just the second time in the NHL's salary cap era 鈥� is still confident in the drivers' seat.
"It's a battle," he said after scoring twice in Game 3. "Excited about the opportunity that we have on Sunday. We're right there, so just keep going. We know we can be better in a lot of areas.
"Chance to regroup and reset and get back at it."
The champs will be waiting.
SICK NOTE
Veteran goaltender Matt Murray, who suited as the backup in Game 2 with Stolarz out, was unable to dress for Toronto due to an illness. Denis Hildeby, a rookie with just six games of NHL experience, was the team's No. 2 option Friday.
ON THE PROWL
The 36-year-old Marchand's winner was his fourth-career playoff OT goal to put him one back of only Patrick Kane, Corey Perry and teammate Carter Verhaeghe for the most among active players.
"In overtime, there's not a bad shot you can put at the net," said Marchand, a player with a long history delivering Toronto post-season heartbreak from his time with the Boston Bruins. "Fortuitous bounce, but that's what happens when you put pucks there."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
