The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs are squaring off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years. There is one big difference in Toronto since their five-game loss to Florida in 2023. Panthers coach Paul Maurice has noticed a difference with the Maple Leafs under coach Craig Berube. He revealed that development in their game during his pre-game press conference on Monday.

“I think there’s more patience in their game than maybe in the past …. I would say a more mature game.”

Whether this is a shot at former Maple Leafs coach and current Devils coach Sheldon Keefe is an argument for another day. But it is certainly a compliment to Berube, who won the Stanley Cup with the 2019 St Louis Blues. In that run, Berube's Blues beat Maurice's Winnipeg Jets in the first round in six games.

Since then, Maurice has smashed his long-standing playoff demons. He led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and to their first title in 2024. Berube struggled to get his Blues core over the hump again, but has come in and settled the locker room down in his first year.

The Panthers and Maple Leafs have locked horns before. But this is Berube's opportunity to solidify his legacy.

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The Maple Leafs and Panthers are set for a massive series

Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) battle for the puck during the first period at Scotiabank Arena.
John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

When John Tavares signed his seven-year contract with the Maple Leafs, Toronto had made the playoffs twice since the 2004 lockout. They lost in the first round in 2013 and 2017, bringing Tavares in right after that series. When they signed one of the biggest free agents in league history to that point, expectations were set high.

Mike Babcock was the coach then and lasted into the 2019-20 season. Sheldon Keefe took over for a team that had not won in the first round in two more attempts. Then, Keefe led them to a humiliating qualifying round loss to the Blue Jackets and a devastating loss to the Canadiens the year after that. Even after supposedly breaking the curse in 2022 against the Lightning, they went back to their losing ways last year.

When the Maple Leafs lost two straight opportunities to close out the Senators, Berube did not panic. The Panthers' coach noticed and is preparing for the Maple Leafs, knowing the coaching is different this time around. The Maple Leafs and Panthers start their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series on Monday at 8 p.m.