2023-05-08 03:37:23
SUMMARY
The Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime on Sunday in Game 3 of this series.
This victory puts Florida just one win away from the Eastern Finals. The Panthers lead 3-0 in this second-round series.
Sam Reinhart was the hero of the game with the winning goal at 3:02 of overtime when he rounded the net to score the winning goal.
It was Reinhart’s fifth goal in the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who stood out in the big moments,” Reinhart said after the game.
The Leafs’ season will be in jeopardy in Game 4 of this series, which takes place Tuesday at Sunrise.
Only four teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series in NHL history: Toronto (1942), New York Islanders (1975), Philadelphia Flyers (2010) and the Los Angeles Kings (2014).
“You have to win a game,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. That was the mission tonight. You have to start with a match and give yourself a chance. They are in full control here; it’s up to us to make it uncomfortable for them and not let them down. We still believe enormously in our group. »
The winner of this series will face the winner of the duel between New Jersey and Carolina, who lead 2-1.
“Obviously it’s a matter of life and death now,” Leafs center Auston Matthews said. So it starts with a match. »
Toronto suffered a blow 37 seconds into the second period as goaltender Ilya Samsonov fell in action. He immediately replaced Joseph Woll, who fell victim to the Panthers’ two goals in regulation time.
Samsonov was injured when his defender Luke Schenn collided with him during an enemy attack.
Samsonov had made eight saves before quitting. In eight playoff games before the game, Samsonov posted a 3.27 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.
The Maple Leafs guns were once again quiet and kept off the scoresheet. Auston Matthews hit the post after just 20 seconds in the first.
The game had started well for the Maple Leafs, who opened the scoring at 2:26 in the first thanks to Sam Lafferty who completed a two-on-one attack to put the Maple Leafs ahead early in the game.
Anthony Duclair took advantage of Woll to tie the game with a right-left fake on a breakaway in front of him with a power-play goal, which was awarded to Florida on the play that led to the injury of the Leafs goalie.
Marc Staal had bad luck deflecting the puck into his own net much to the delight of the Leafs, who regained a 2-1 lead. The goal was credited to Erik Gustafsson.
Panthers player Carter Verhaeghe deflected into the Leafs’ net to tie the game again at 2-2.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for the Panthers, who hold such a series lead for the first time since 1996.
Woll made 18 saves after replacing Samsonov.
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