Brad Marchand Continues to Give Leafs’ Fans Nightmares; Panthers Dismantle Toronto 6-1 in Game 7

The Florida Panthers traveled north to Toronto for a do-or-die game seven in second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The environment for the game was buzzing as chants of, “Go Leafs Go,” filled Scotiabank Arena from start to finish. The first period ended in a 0-0 deadlock, which was the closest and series would ever be for the Maple Leafs.

From that point, the Panthers kicked it into second gear and put up three straight goals to take a 3-0 lead to the second intermission. The same fans that were chanting, “Go Leafs Go,” at the start of the game started booing their Maple Leafs as trash and beer cans rained from the seats onto the ice.

Max Domi would then pot the first goal for the Leafs to get the crowd back into the game, but three more goals by the Panthers would essentially ice the game. The final score was 6-1 in favor of Florida. Let’s take a look at how we got there.

FLORIDA STAND UP 🗣️

For the THIRD consecutive season, the Panthers are headed to the conference finals! 🌴 pic.twitter.com/zxYAMe1RRY

— ESPN (@espn) May 19, 2025

Series Recap

The series started all Toronto with them taking a 2-0 series lead after two hard-fought home wins. The Leafs offense looked like they could do anything to the Panthers scoring five goals in Game 1 and four in Game 2.

However, the momentum shifted in South Florida. After the Leafs went up 3-1 in the second period of game three, the Panthers would battle to send the game to overtime where the Cats would take it 5-4 off a Brad Marchand overtime winner.

The Panthers took two the next two games in the series to put the Leafs on the brink of elimination with a 3-2 series lead. The Leafs would fight the adversity in game six, blanking the Panthers 2-0 to come back to Toronto for game seven. However, the Panthers would put up six goals on them to take the series.

Maple Leafs match NHL record for the largest margin of defeat by a home team in a Game 7

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 19, 2025

Third Line on the Prowl

Florida wanted to do something big at the trade deadline. After acquiring defenseman Seth Jones a few days prior, they were still scouting the open market. Right before the deadline hit, the hockey world was shocked when Brad Marchand was announced as a Florida Panther.

This trade deadline acquisition has only helped to bolster an already deep roster — forming a nightmare third line to go up against. It consists of a three-headed monster of Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and the aforementioned Marchand.

This line eventually became the story of this second-round series. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice kept that line out to shut down Toronto’s first line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies. Since making the move in game three, the Panthers allowed 8 goals for the rest of the series.

The third liners have helped the Panthers not only defensively but also offensively. Marchand and Luostarinen are tied for the team lead in points in the playoffs at 12. Ten of Luostarinen’s 12 points have come on the road — the most in the playoffs. Lundell isn’t far behind either sitting at 10 — third best on the team.

Marchand w/ the assist on Luostarinen's goal.

Marchand now has 6 career assists in Game 7's, which is tied with Evgeni Malkin for the most among active players. pic.twitter.com/a0zsm9cm0B

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 19, 2025

What’s Next for Both Teams?

Toronto’s playoff success has been few and far between. Prior to 2023, they were on a 19-year drought of not making the second round. This is their second trip to the second round since — losing both times to the Panthers.

Toronto will have to decide on a few players on their roster. They could be losing members of their core four — Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares — in the offseason, with Marner and Tavares both being unrestricted free agents. The Leafs are now tasked with choosing between running it back with their core four or blowing up the roster

Florida will advance to their third straight Eastern Conference Final. It will be a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals with the Panthers taking on the Carolina Hurricanes. That series starts Tuesday in Raleigh.