Maple Leafs, Panthers scoreless after first period in Game 7 of Eastern Conference second round
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers are scoreless after the first period in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference second-round series on Sunday night.
The Panthers were dominant in the Maple Leafs’ zone early, throwing seven shots on goaltender Joseph Woll as Toronto did not register its first shot of the game until the 12:37 minute mark. However, the Maple Leafs responded by gaining offensive zone time and getting Grade-A scoring chances on Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Florida got the first power play of the game with two minutes to go in the period as Toronto was caught with too many men on the ice but the Maple Leafs successfully killed off the power play.
Goaltender Anthony Stolarz returned to the lineup for Game 7 as Woll’s backup.
Stolarz was knocked out of the second-round series in Game 1 after getting a forearm to the head from Panthers forward Sam Bennett, who was not penalized or suspended for the hit.
Forward Matthew Knies was also announced good to play prior to the game. Knies took a reverse hit from Panthers defenceman Niko Mikkola on Friday and was visibly in discomfort throughout Game 6 and played sparingly in the 2-0 win.
Evan Rodrigues also returned to the lineup for Florida after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury.
The reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers look to reach the Eastern Conference finals for a third straight year while the Maple Leafs look advance to the conference finals for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
The winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes, who dispatched the Washington Capitals in five games in the second round.