Panthers rout Maple Leafs to take a 3-2 series lead

By Canadian Press on May 14, 2025.

TORONTO (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, three Florida defensemen scored and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The defending champion Panthers scored three times in a 7:53 span of the second period to pull away for their third straight victory. Game 6 is Friday night in Sunrise, Florida.

Jesper Boqvist returned to score his first career playoff goal and also had an assist, and defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola also scored in the first two periods. In the third, A.J. Greer had his first career playoff goal and Sam Bennett added his sixth of the playoffs.

Bobrovsky missed a chance for his second straight shutout when Nicholas Robertson swept the puck in with 1:06 left for Toronto’s first goal in 143 minutes 25 seconds. After a 5-4 overtime victory Friday night in Game 3, Bobrovsky made 23 saves Sunday night in a 2-0 victory.

Joseph Woll stopped 20 of 25 shots for Toronto before giving way to Matt Murray after Greer’s goal at 6:23 of the third. Murray made six saves on seven shots.

OILERS 1, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0, OT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kasperi Kapanen scored on a scramble in front of the net at 7:14 of overtime, and Edmonton beat Vegas in Game 5 to advance to the Western Conference final for the second year in a row.

The Oilers, who last season made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing in seven games to Florida, will play Dallas or Winnipeg in the next round. The Stars, who lead 3-1, will go for the series win Thursday night.

Kapanen’s goal backed up another shutout performance from goalie Stuart Skinner, who made 24 saves and drew several chants of “Stu! Stu!” from Oilers fans in the crowd. Skinner, who was benched two games into the playoffs, also blanked the Golden Knights in Game 4. This was his third start in a row in replacing the injured Calvin Pickard.

Adin Hill made 29 saves for Vegas.

The Associated Press