Nick Cousins scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in Game 5 on Friday, advancing to the Eastern Conference final.
Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, while Morgan Rielly and William Nylander countered for Toronto. Rielly appeared to score his second goal of the contest with 2:49 remaining in the second period but after a lengthy review, the officials determined they had the intent to blow the whistle prior to the shot crossing the line.
Maple Leafs fans responded by throwing objects onto the ice, furthering the second-period delay.
Verhaeghe beat Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll from the side wall in the first period for his fifth goal of the playoffs after receiving a feed from Anthony Duclair. Ekblad also received a secondary assist and starred in a two-point effort the Panthers.
Ekblad opened the scoring after Gustav Forsling faked a slap shot, then sent it over to his defence partner, who wired a shot that trickled through Woll for the 1-0 lead. Holding a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission, it appeared all but over, but the Maple Leafs submitted a valiant effort from there onward.
Rielly scored for the Maple Leafs, beating Panthers starter Sergei Bobrovsky with a shot through heavy traffic for his fourth goal of the postseason, matching his regular season output. And with the Maple Leafs facing elimination, Nylander responded with his finest individual effort of the playoffs, bursting in with a ton of speed and beating Bobrovsky from a nearly perpendicular angle late in regulation.
Florida will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round.
More to come.
