SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — It's a formula the Florida Panthers keep using in the playoffs: Take a lead after two periods, then let Sergei Bobrovsky and the defence do the rest.
And it worked again.
Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett scored and the Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Sunday night in Game 4 to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Florida has won 25 consecutive playoff games when leading after two periods, a streak that goes back to May 5, 2022.
“It’s a series," Bobrovsky said. “The bigger games are ahead, so we’re excited about them. The series comes down to a best-of-three, so it's a big game, next one.”
Home-ice advantage has held, and Toronto will hope that trend continues in Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Leafs won Games 1 and 2 at home, then dropped Games 3 and 4 in Sunrise.
"We had looks," Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “They're doing a good job of swarming us with numbers, obviously. … It's a battle out there. This is what it is. They don't give you a lot.”
Verhaeghe scored on a power play — Florida's fourth of the game — in the first period, Bennett added the insurance score with 7:50 left and Bobrovsky did the rest for his second shutout of this post-season.
Joseph Woll stopped 35 shots for the Maple Leafs.
“He was great,” Berube said. “He played an excellent game."
Verhaeghe's goal came after Matthew Tkachuk, along the left-wing boards, threaded a pass through the slot and past two defenders. It found Verhaeghe — who slammed a one-timer past Woll.
That was part of an early spree for Florida. The Panthers took 21 of the game's first 26 shots on net, controlling play for long stretches and keeping all the action in front of Woll. He held firm, time and again, keeping Toronto in it.
Bennett said enough.
He came in from Woll's left, with Verhaeghe opposite him, looking for a passing lane. When none appeared, Bennett went to the front of the net, watched Woll commit, then pushed the puck into the net before punching the air.
“That was more like the type of Panthers playoff hockey that we're used to,” Bennett said.
It got chippy late, as games this late in a series tend to do.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — part of the Florida team that won the Stanley Cup last season — delivered a shot to the head and neck area of Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues about five minutes into in the third period. It was originally called a major, then downgraded to a minor after review.
Rodrigues will need further evaluation Monday, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
And four players — Toronto’s Max Domi for boarding Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov; and Toronto’s Bobby McMann, Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and Panthers forward Brad Marchand on his 37th birthday — all got 10-minute misconducts as time expired.
“I think he'll be all right," Maurice said about Barkov.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
