Panthers score three in second to lead Leafs in Game 5
Published
Dmitry Kulikov, Jesper Boqvist, and Niko Mikkola added to the Panthers' early lead as Florida will take a 4-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs into the third period of Game 5.
Sam Reinhart has a pair of assists through 40 minutes, while Boqvist has a goal and an assist in his first action since Game 2.
Kulikov put the Panthers up by two at 6:08 when he blasted a point shot that was tipped by Leafs forward Scott Laughton and over the shoulder of Joseph Woll. It was the defenceman’s first goal of the postseason.
The Panthers added their second of the period when Boqvist scored his first of the playoffs. Off a turnover in the neutral zone Florida went in on an odd-man rush and Sam Reinhart slipped a cross-ice pass to Boqvist who put it past a sliding Woll to put the Panthers up by three. Boqvist was a healthy scratch for the past two games but was inserted into the lineup in place of the injured Evan Rodrigues.
Florida went up 4-0 off another Leafs turnover, when Mikkola fired a point shot past Woll for his first of the playoffs.
The lone goal of the first period came at 14:38 of the frame after sustained pressure in the Toronto zone. As the Leafs failed to clear a loose puck in the slot, Sam Reinhart found Aaron Ekblad, who snapped the puck past a screened Woll for his second of the playoffs.
Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped all 20 shots he has faced, while Woll has stopped 22 of 26 shots.
The Maple Leafs head coach made two changes at forward for Game 5. Head coach Craig Berube brought winger Nick Robertson and centre David Kampf down from the press box and into the action. Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg were scratched.
The home team has won every game thus far in the series. Florida evened the series at 2-2 on Sunday night with a 2-0 victory.