It all comes down to Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. Sunday’s race marked the conclusion of a series’ wild roller coaster that included two wins before a three-game winning streak in Florida, which followed up with a tough win in Toronto’s sixth game, offering another game.
Who continues to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals? Who started off the offseason holiday earlier than they hoped?
Keep reading for ESPN Research’s statistical insights for a game preview, a roundtable debate that took place in Game 7 with the main players and final scoring draft picks, reviewing what happened on Saturday’s game and ArdaÖcal’s Saturday three-star rating.
Showdown notes
Florida Black Panther with Maple Leafs in Toronto
Game 7 | 7:30 PM ET | TNT
The Maple Leafs lost six games in a row, and had been 12-15 in Game 7. The Panthers have a 3-1 history in Game 7, including a victory in last year's Stanley Cup final.
Auston Matthews' first goal in 11 career playoff games against the Panthers was at a major time, technically, the game 6 champion. He became the second Captain of the Maple Leafs in history, scored a victory in the face of the knockout round, and joined Darryl Sittler in 1976.
Teammate Mitch Marner assisted Matthews with the second playoff assist in Toronto franchise history - Doug Gilmour had 60 goals.
Joseph Woll was in his first professional playoff appearance, becoming the first Leaf goalkeeper to face the knockout round since Curtis Joseph of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.
Florida's Brad Marchand will appear in his 13th career and will be the most active player. He is the fifth time ever to hit that benchmark, joining Scott Stevens, Patrick Roy (13) and his former Bruins teammates Patrice Bergeron (14) and Zdeno Chara (14).
Sergei Bobrovsky scored a 2-0 career record in Game 7, including a win over Edmonton in last year's Cup final. He hopes to join the group of eight goalkeepers who won the first three games.
Who is the key player you want to see?
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: Joseph Wall. Here are a few reasons. It's obvious: whether he can copy what he did in Game 6 or bring at least a few elements of that performance into Game 7. Another reason is the conversation around the tandem goalkeeper and the depth requirement for the position. We are used to seeing teams have a major option in the network, and are expected to play every second. But this playoff shows that at least two goalkeepers can be trusted have the value of at least two, if not three, of goalkeepers. Wall's 7th victory will further emphasize reality.
vNHL analyst Ictoria Matiash: William Nylander. Nylander is the most productive player of the playoff season and has been on the scoring list for the past week. After scoring six goals and nine assists in nine games against Ottawa and Florida, Toronto has performed the most.
If one of the coolest cucumbers in the game manages to break Bobrovsky and rifle, he will provide his team with a great opportunity to clear obstacles that Leafs fans have not enjoyed for years.
Ardaöcal, NHL Broadcasting Corporation: Auston Matthews. The Leaf Captain scored his first career playoff goal against the Panthers in Game 6, which was his first professional goal outside the first round of the playoffs. We're hearing it all the time: Superstars need to show up and show when it matters most. He did it in Game 6. Can he do the same on Sunday when the winner goes all out?
NHL reporter Kristen Shilton: Mitch Marner. Now, Matthews has lifted the Monkeys out of the background with this key goal in Game 6, it’s time for Marner to have his own series-defined moment in Game 7. Marner scored four points in his first three games against Florida, but has only received one assist since then. After that, after the bad luck Spin-O-Rama mistake put Marner into a 5th collapse, it was also his chance to make some redemptions on the family ice.
Like Matthews, Marner is one of the most important playoff performance players in the league. Well, the bet has never been so high. Now or never, Mana left his mark on this mark.
Greg Wysshynski, NHL reporter: Brad Marchand. Even in a moment of pure joy - a win of Game 6, your two most disgusting players combined for winning goals - the general idea of Maple Leaf fans is whether this is just another mechanism that ultimately provides the greatest pain. Marchand won the Panthers’ seventh win on the ice on the Toronto family, which would be the biggest pain.
It must be Marchand who twisted the dagger. He had a 4-0 record against Toronto in Game 7, with all games with the Boston Bruins and could be the first player in NHL history to beat the same opponent in at least five winners. Before choosing Florida as his deadline destination, the leaves wanted to change leaves, and now we are going to talk about the ironic level of pain. Brad Marchand is the reason why the Panthers won this game 7, and it will cement his position as Toronto Maple Leafs' biggest tormentor - perhaps second only to himself.
The final score will be _____.
Clark: 4-3 Black Panthers in OT. Consider how the current iteration of Black Panther actually starts marking. It was the 7th victory against the Boston Bruins in 2023 that laid the foundation for the Panthers to become one of the outstanding powers in the NHL.
They showed a comfortable level in the game, which was the case when they won the first Stanley Cup in team history last season. Hiring this experience in Game 7 could be the third consecutive Eastern Conference Finals final or early in the offseason.
Matiash: 4-2 Maple Leaf. That's OK, Leafs' frustrating record of losing with a core fourth move in Game 7. Paul Maurice has an impeccable history in the Carbon Copy Basic Championship Winning Game. The losers are just the losers until they win.
If Toronto follows Berube's system, leverages its advantage in speed, it can reasonably refute Florida's physical condition and not commits absurd violations - stupid punishment, stupid giveaway - they can eventually overwhelm the script in a tired and shady narrative that longs for too long in a exhausted narrative. If the true well-intentioned star Central crew really wants to keep the elite band collaborating for the years to come, this victory is essential. Marner scores an empty netter to seal it.
Öcal: 3-1 leaf. That's how I see it: Toronto scored the first goal from Manner in the first stage and then blew the Cats' slam in the second stage. Marchand scored for Florida in the third inning, followed by a quick response from John Tavares, before Auston Matthews dumped the boiler home. The Leaf team entered the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002. Then 300,000 people celebrated this second round of victory at Nathan Phillips Square.
Hilton: 3-2 leaves in OT. If not now...when? Toronto knows exactly what to do in order to close Florida. This is not easy. Paul Maurice was 5-0 in Game 7. The Panthers know how to win big games. But the blueprints that beat them are also there for leaves to execute.
Joseph Woll performed best in Game 6. Toronto's top line rolls. The leaves look stout on defense and lack collective efforts before. This is the first time since the early 2000s that the chance to compete in the finals is too good to slip away, and Toronto will not let it go. In his last appearance in 2002, he beat Ottawa Game 7 - a chance to hit Carolina. coincide? Maybe not!
Wyshynski: 2-1 Black Panther. Auston Matthews was eliminated eight times from the playoffs. Three of the last four knockout matches have been a goal, with two of which going to be overtime. That said, even if they fall, these leaves usually don't work as hard as they've had in their 5th embarrassment at home.
But they will go out. There are so many people in Florida that have done it before. Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart performed well in Game 7. Sergei Bobrovsky was 2-0. Another team may waste opportunities to end their opponents. Florida splurged against Connor McDavid three times in the Stanley Cup final last season but still brought it together to win the Cup in Game 7. The Panthers won, the Leafs bravely finished the series, while another key offseason decision began in Toronto.
Öcal's three stars start on Saturday
After hearing the accidental death of Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele's father, the star's fan base mobilized online and began a campaign to donate $55 (Scheifele's jersey number) to veteran-backed charities. Add this to the list of the best reasons why hockey fans are.
Overtime heroes will Dallas send the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive year - a 2024 game against the Edmonton Oilers. Harley became the fourth defensive player in franchise history, winning the OT title in the playoffs, joining John Klingberg (2019), Mattias Norstrom (2008) and Paul Cavallini (1994).
Scheifele had an incredible game, including the opening goal, just hours after discovering her father’s death. This is Scheifele's first road playoff goal in the last 13 games.
Saturday's review
Dallas Star 2, Winnipeg Jets 1 (OT)
Dal
Multiple games in the series end with multiple goals wins. That wasn't the case on Saturday, as the two heavyweights competed in a pressing game and would eventually play in the OT. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele scored a kick-off goal in the second stage (the day after his father's accidental death), followed by an equaliser for Dallas's Sam Steel. This is where the score will remain until the end of the regulations. Thomas Harley soon sent Dallas fans to a crazy fan on OT, whose team reached the Western Conference Finals, starting with a rematch last year with the Edmonton Oilers. Complete review.