The Florida Panthers followed their tried-and-true playoff formula Sunday night — take a lead through two periods, then turn the game over to Sergei Bobrovsky and a suffocating defense. It worked once again.
Bobrovsky stopped all 23 shots he faced for his fifth career playoff shutout, backstopping the Panthers to a 2-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. With the victory, Florida evened the series at two games apiece and extended a remarkable postseason streak — the Panthers have now won 25 straight playoff games when leading after two periods, a run dating back to May 5, 2022.
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett provided the goals for Florida, while Bobrovsky did the rest, recording his second shutout of the 2025 postseason. The Panthers controlled the flow early, peppering Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll with 21 of the game’s first 26 shots and finishing with a 37-23 edge overall.
“We came out strong, set the tone early, and let Bob do what he does best,” said Bennett, whose late third-period tally sealed the victory.
Verhaeghe opened the scoring midway through the first period on Florida’s fourth power play of the night. After a slick feed from Matthew Tkachuk through traffic, Verhaeghe blasted a one-timer past Woll to put the Panthers in front. Woll, despite the loss, was stellar in net for Toronto, stopping 35 of 37 shots and keeping the game close through two periods.
But Florida kept the pressure up. With just under eight minutes remaining in regulation, Bennett charged in from the left side, looked for a pass, saw no options, and instead tucked the puck past Woll to make it 2-0 — igniting a roaring celebration from the home crowd.
“We’re sticking to our identity,” Verhaeghe said. “We’re playing hard, fast, and smart hockey. That’s how we’ve won games in the past, and that’s how we’ll keep doing it.”
Tensions boiled over late, as physicality and frustration mounted. Toronto’s Max Domi was penalized for boarding Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, while a flurry of misconducts followed in the closing moments. Bobby McMann (Toronto), Aaron Ekblad (Florida), and Brad Marchand (Florida) — celebrating his 37th birthday — were all handed 10-minute misconducts at the final horn.
Earlier in the third, Toronto’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson received a major penalty for a high hit on Evan Rodrigues, though it was downgraded to a minor after review. Rodrigues will undergo further evaluation, Panthers coach Paul Maurice confirmed postgame.
With home-ice advantage holding steady so far in the series — Toronto winning Games 1 and 2 at Scotiabank Arena, Florida responding in Games 3 and 4 — the pivotal Game 5 shifts back to Toronto on Wednesday night.
“They’re a great team, but so are we,” Maurice said. “This series is what playoff hockey is all about.”
Can Florida break the home-ice trend in Game 5, or will Toronto regain control in front of their fans?
