Leafs lead Panthers after quick start in first period of Game 3
Published
Matthew Knies and John Tavares pounced early, giving the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead over the Florida Panthers after the first period of their pivotal Game 3 matchup.
As they did in Game 1, the Leafs struck very early in the first as Knies got Toronto on the board 23 seconds into the game. After sustained pressure in the Florida zone, Matthew Knies collected a rebound after Mitch Marner hit the post and put it past a sprawling Bobrovsky for the lead.
The Leafs added to the lead at 5:58 of the period when Tavares took the puck and went behind the net, catching Bobrovsky out of position once again to make it 2-0 for Toronto with his first of the series. Max Pacioretty and William Nylander assisted on the goal.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov gave his team life at 7:38 of the period when he chipped the puck past Joseph Woll to cut the deficit to one.
Florida came inches from tying the game on the power play with less than seven minutes remaining in the period, but Sam Reinhart’s shot rang off the post and out of harm’s way. The Panthers had another opportunity to tie the game with another power play but Carter Verhaeghe was called for a penalty of his own 14 seconds into the man-advantage, ending the opportunity.
Woll started his second-straight game for the Maple Leafs in relief of Anthony Stolarz, who left partway through Game 2.
The Leafs lead the series 2-0 after a pair of wins in Toronto.