Entering last night’s contest down 2-0 in the series, last night was about as much of a must-win as it could get for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Reverse sweeps are incredibly rare in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so bringing this series to 2-1 was of the utmost importance for the Leafs.
Unfortunately, they fell in overtime to the Panthers and find themselves down 3-0 in the series and on the brink of elimination. Here are the highlights from last night’s game.
Sam Lafferty opened the scoring just over two minutes into the first. David Kampf and Morgan Reilly picked up the assists on the goal.
LAFF GETS US GOING!!! pic.twitter.com/8jTkVnQgsa
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 7, 2023
Lafferty’s goal would be the only tally of the first period. That means we’re headed for the second, where bad news struck for the Leafs. Less than a minute into the second frame, goaltender Ilya Samsonov went down in a heap after Luke Schenn crashed into him on the backcheck…
Ilya Samsonov is heading to the dressing room after a pile-up during the second period. pic.twitter.com/O7OamT3H8C
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 7, 2023
Samsonov exited the game, with Joseph Woll taking over and Matt Murray coming down from the press box to serve as the EBUG.
The Leafs wasted little time busting out their pedestrian defence coverage, allowing Anthony Duclair to walk in all alone on Woll almost before the goaltender even had a chance to stretch.
THE DUKE HAS THE MOVES 👑 pic.twitter.com/m0z0AU0iYL
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 7, 2023
Erik Gustafsson tied things up roughly five minutes later, with William Nylander and Jake McCabe picking up the helpers.
GUSSSSS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/2I5mWQ5hBf
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 7, 2023 …
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Author: David Quadrelli / The Leafs Nation
