The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers have gone back and forth in Game 3 on Friday night. Maple Leafs forward William Nylander continued his hot streak with a point in this game. And the Panthers battled back from an early 2-0 deficit. Perhaps it was fitting that these two Stanley Cup contenders went to overtime on Friday night.

The Panthers and Maple Leafs battled it out in the extra period in this contest. In the end, Florida skated away with the win thanks to an overtime goal from Brad Marchand. This goal makes it a 2-1 series lead for Toronto heading into Game 4 in Sunrise, Florida.

Panthers' Brad Marchand has been thorn in Maple Leafs' side

Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) looks on against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

This is far from the first time Marchand has sank the Maple Leafs, especially in the postseason. Before a midseason trade to the Panthers, the veteran winger was a star with the Boston Bruins. Through his time with the Bruins, Marchand helped eliminate Toronto on more than one occasion.

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The first instance came in 2013 when the two teams met in the first round. Toronto and Boston went to a Game 7 in that series, and the Maple Leafs had the lead in the third period. However, Boston came back and defeated Toronto in overtime.

The teams next met in the 2018 postseason, with a similar result. Marchand and the Bruins defeated Toronto in seven games, though Game 7 was decidedly more in favor of Boston this time around. These Atlantic Division rivals met again in 2019, with Boston again winning in seven.

Marchand's final playoff run with the Bruins came in 2024. He met the Maple Leafs in the first round, as usual. Game 7 was not lopsided, though, and even went to overtime. However, Boston won in overtime thanks to David Pastrnak. The Bruins would go on to lose to the Panthers in the second round, however.

Marchand has been a bit slow to get going offensively in Florida. However, the veteran still knows how to make an impact. And he certainly knows how to beat the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, as he demonstrated on Friday night.