'Everything's on the line': Maple Leafs, Panthers set for Game 7 clash

SUNRISE - Craig Berube found himself at peace once the puck dropped. The anticipation was the tough part.

The St. Louis Blues head coach guided his team on a long journey that culminated with Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins on June 12, 2019.

"It's a lot of waiting around, a lot of thinking," Berube, now bench boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recalled of a memorable day where the clock sometimes felt like it was at a standstill. 

"I enjoy the game when it gets going much more," he added with a smile. "The game's not played throughout the day. You gotta just keep everything in check and not overthink things.

"It'll come to you." 

Berube, who delivered a memorable locker-room speech six years ago ahead of Game 7 that went viral online, was hoisting hockey's holy grail after the final buzzer sounded that night in Boston. While not quite the same stakes, he wants his current roster to go through the same process Sunday.

And hopefully secure the same result.

The Leafs will host the Florida Panthers in Game 7 at Scotiabank Arena after forcing the winner-take-all finale thanks to a gutsy 2-0 road victory Friday.

With its back against the wall and the knives out following an ugly 6-1 home loss in Game 5 when boos — and a couple jerseys torn from backs in frustration — rained down from the stands, Toronto responded 48 hours later in impressive fashion.

Auston Matthews scored for the first time in his career at this stage of the playoffs to break a 0-0 tie in the third period off a Mitch Marner setup. Max Pacioretty then bagged an insurance goal with under six minutes left in regulation. Joseph Woll made 22 saves for his first post-season shutout.

The Leafs, whose futility both recent and in the distant past is well-documented, were left for dead by wide swaths of a scarred fan base. Now they sit one victory over the defending champs away from the Original Six franchise's first trip to the Eastern Conference final since 2002.

"It's what you want to play for," Marner said of Game 7s on Friday night. "Especially when you're going down 3-2 into an away building … the job's only gonna get harder. Can't be satisfied." 

Toronto, however, has won just two series in 10 tries during the Matthews-Marner era despite a stretch of prolonged regular-season success following a complete rebuild begun a decade ago and envisioned by team president Brendan Shanahan.

A stable of elite offensive talent that includes fellow forwards John Tavares and William Nylander hasn't produced much playoff success, including an 0-5 record in Game 7s since 2018, with two of those losses coming on home ice.

The Leafs, however, aren't worried about the past.

"It's always exciting," Marner said of Game 7. "It'll be great to hear the fan base. I'm sure they'll be ready for us." 

Woll was unable to play in last spring's series-deciding showdown loss to the Bruins in Boston because of injury.

"This is just a pretty special opportunity for our team," he said of Sunday. "We feel good going in and we know our process … just gonna take that through." 

Berube owns a 2-1 record behind the bench in Game 7s, while Panthers opposite Paul Maurice is a perfect 5-0, including last season's Cup-clinching triumph over the Edmonton Oilers.

"They are free," Maurice said of a contest where one team is certain to be going home. "All the energy that you got with no concern about tomorrow."

Berube said the approach has to be straightforward — like the Leafs in Game 6.

"It means a lot to everybody," he said. "All the people that I knew growing up, they always dreamed about a Game 7 … everything's on the line."

The countdown is on.

"I can't wait," Pacioretty said. "We're going to war."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2025.