With their season hanging by a thread and the scoreboard locked in a tense deadlock, the Toronto Maple Leafs turned to their captain — and Auston Matthews delivered.
Matthews ended a lengthy goal drought against the Florida Panthers with a clutch third-period strike, breaking a scoreless tie and propelling the Maple Leafs to a gritty 2-0 victory Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. The win forces a decisive Game 7 on Sunday night in Toronto, where the winner will advance to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
It was Matthews’ first goal of the series — and his first in over a year against Florida — but its timing could not have been more crucial. The superstar sniper had gone 0-for-31 on shots versus the Panthers this season, including the regular season, and Sergei Bobrovsky had denied 85 of his last 86 attempts in the series. But with 13:40 left in regulation, Matthews finally found an opening.
After a misplay by Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Matthews pounced on the loose puck and snapped a low shot that slid underneath Bobrovsky to give Toronto its first lead in over 216 minutes of game time — nearly 3½ full games.
“Simple, but effective,” summed up the Leafs’ approach. Toronto clogged shooting lanes, blocked 31 shots, and suffocated Florida’s power play, successfully killing off all four man-advantage opportunities. Behind that defensive wall, goaltender Joseph Woll was outstanding, stopping all 22 shots he faced for the shutout.
Max Pacioretty added an insurance goal late in the third period, sealing Toronto’s fourth win in six elimination games since the start of the 2023 playoffs. It was a no-frills, workmanlike performance from a team that had struggled mightily after an early offensive surge in the series.
The Maple Leafs opened the series with five goals in Game 1, followed by four in Game 2, and three more early in Game 3 — 12 total across roughly seven periods. But they were stymied from that point on, failing to score again until Matthews broke through in Game 6.
Bobrovsky made 15 saves for Florida, who fell to 8-7 in potential closeout games over the past three postseasons despite winning last year’s Stanley Cup. The Panthers are still confident heading into Game 7, where head coach Paul Maurice boasts a perfect 5-0 career record — including the 2023 Cup-clinching Game 7. The franchise itself is 3-1 all-time in Game 7s, and 2-0 on the road in those contests.
Toronto, on the other hand, will face a mountain of pressure. The Maple Leafs have lost six straight Game 7s, with four of those defeats coming at the hands of the Boston Bruins — and then-Bruin, now-Panther, Brad Marchand.
Game 6 was just the second scoreless tie through two periods in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, joining Edmonton’s 1-0 overtime win over Vegas earlier this week. But Toronto didn’t blink. They stayed patient, committed to blocking shots and collapsing defensively when needed.
Now, the Maple Leafs return home with a chance to finally exorcise their Game 7 demons.
“Backs against the wall, and we responded,” Matthews said postgame. “Now we’ve got one more to go.”
