Nick Dupont, 22, is a lifelong Florida Panthers fan. He watched Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at a Chili’s restaurant in Doral.
Most people were tuned into the Celtics annihilating the Knicks, but Dupont was tapped into what he called “the beautiful hockey” the team played on the way to a 6-1 victory.
“It’s incredible seeing the guys win like this, especially in Toronto,” Dupont said. “I wasn’t expecting a scoreline like this, but I’m glad we got it.”
That game set the stage for tonight’s showdown between Panthers and Leafs, at 8 p.m. in Sunrise. The contest will either return the Floridians to the conference final, where they triumphed last year, or will force a decisive game seven in Toronto.
Wednesday’s game started with a strong approach by the Panthers, who outshot the Leafs 8-2 in the first period. They were in control of the puck and pace.
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored the first goal of the game to end the first period at 1-0. That was only the beginning.
The Panthers scored three goals during the second. One of them came from Jesper Boqvist, who netted his first career playoff goal. The other two came from defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola.
Mikolla’s goal put the game out of reach for the Leafs, giving the Panthers a 4-0 lead at the end of the second period. The team scored two more goals in the third to cap off their victory.
The Panthers, especially goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, put on a defensive master class. He finished the game with 31 saves, allowing only one goal.
The Leafs’ lone score came with a minute left in the third period. At that point, it was well over.
The Toronto team had one of the best offenses in the league all year.
The strong defensive performance showed the Panthers’ grit and determination.
Dupont, the fan, believed this to be a “statement win” and described the defense as “lights out.”
The Panthers traveled three hours to the Northern Border and completely dominated. They now have a 3-2 series lead and are one step closer to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive year.
According to league data, after a series is tied at 2-2, the winner of game five advances to the next round 73% of the time
The Panthers know how difficult it is to close out a series, but have plenty of experience to pull it off. The Leafs are likely to play with desperation in tonight’s game six, which will be televised on TNT. So the Panthers will need to kick it up another notch to punch their ticket to the next round.
It’ll take some big performances from forward Matthew Tkachuk and right winger Brad Marchand.
Bobrovsky needs to keep up the resilience in goal. The rest will take care of itself.
“A chance to go to the conference finals for a third straight time is surreal,” Dupont said. “I’m excited to see what the guys have in store.”
