The Toronto Maple Leafs are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs following their overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5. And to the Maple Leafs, this was a major missed opportunity for them.
Toronto rookie goalie Joseph Woll made 40 saves on Friday night. Star players Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored as well, but it wasn't enough to force a Game 6 in Florida.
After the game, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe faced the media. He shared his reaction to the disappointing result that sees them head home after advancing out of the first round for the first round since 2004.
“This is a missed opportunity for our group … We believe we had a team good enough to win the Stanley Cup and we didn't do that,” Keefe said on Friday night.
The Maple Leafs fell behind 2-0 in this game after the Panthers received goals from Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe. Toronto got on the board when Rielly scored in the second period.
Rielly appeared to have scored the game-tying goal before the second intermission. However, the goal was waved off, and the game remained 2-1 Florida entering the third period.
With a little over four minutes left, the Maple Leafs tied the game. Nylander scored to tie the game at two and eventually force overtime. Toronto had chances in overtime but failed to capitalize.
Eventually, the Panthers got an odd-man rush and scored the winner. Panthers forward Nick Cousins waited for the right moment before ripping a shot past Woll to eliminate the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs enter the offseason with a few questions to answer. The biggest and most immediate question regards general manager Kyle Dubas. Dubas' contract expires this summer, potentially opening the door for change in the front office.
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