The NHL playoffs are heating up, and another surprise was waiting tonight. This changes things for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will meet the Florida Panthers for the first time in their history during the postseason tour.
Honestly, who saw that coming? I thought the Boston Bruins could be beaten, but I fully expected the Maple Leafs (if they won) to have the best chance of doing so. In fact, I was a little optimistic about the possibility of the original six teams meeting. However, when the ice flakes melted in Boston, it was the Panthers who emerged victorious.
The Panthers earned their spot in the second round by eliminating the heavily favored Bruins in a Game 7 overtime. Now, what does the Panthers’ victory mean for their next game with Toronto?
One of the things I did in my cursory research was to discover that an NHL team (prior to 2020) made up to $3 million in extra revenue for hosting every home game. this is important.
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Panthers upset Bruins in Game 7 overtime
The Panthers upset the Boston Bruins and eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy winners in a thrilling Game 7 overtime match. The Panthers were trailing 3-2 with only a minute left in the game, but managed to tie the game and then score the winning goal in overtime.
The Bruins had a disappointing end to their season. They lost in Game 7 after taking a 3-1 advantage in the series. It rarely happens that the President’s Trophy winner (the NHL team with the most points at the end of the regular season) loses in the first round of the postseason. In fact, the Bruins are only the second team to do so since 2010.
The Panthers finished 43 points behind the Bruins during the regular season, indicating just how insane the NHL postseason is. The Stanley Cup playoffs are exciting in part because they are so unpredictable.
Does this mean the Maple Leafs’ next step to the Stanley Cup is less bumpy?
With the Bruins out of the picture, the Maple Leafs’ path to the Stanley Cup just got a little easier – or did it? The Bruins have been heavily favored to win it all this year, and the Panthers have risen to knock them out.
On paper, this is good news for the Maple Leafs. However, the Panthers are on their way. While they struggled during the regular season, they snuck into the playoffs because they played with a sense of desperation. They are continuing this tradition.
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The Panthers will be the underdogs going into the second round, and that can be a powerful motivator in the playoffs. Similar to the Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning series, the Panthers were dominated by their opponents in a five-on-five game. However, they have generated a large number of high-risk opportunities and projected goals. In short, they had more scoring opportunities.
Similar to the Maple Leafs/Lightning series, the Panthers’ guard play was superior to the Bruins’. As the Maple Leafs have discovered, goaltending is a major factor in the playoffs. In their playoff series, Ilya Samsonov outplayed Andrei Vasilevsky. Likewise, the Panthers got a solid game from Sergey Bobrovsky when it mattered most.
My point is, the Panthers may just be a stronger opponent than their regular season record would suggest. Their recent play in this first round suggests the Maple Leafs could face a formidable challenge in the next round of the playoffs.
What a surprise, what’s Boston like?
The NHL playoffs are always full of surprises, and this year is no exception. While the Panthers pulled off an impressive upset, the Bruins fell hard on the other end of the stick. The Bruins have only lost 12 of their 82 games during the regular season, during these last seven games the Bruins have lost four of their seven games played. That must come as a surprise.
The Panthers are now set to face the Maple Leafs in the second round. Can the Maple Leafs take advantage of the Bruins’ elimination to advance to the Stanley Cup? We’ll know soon.
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