The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for a win in Game 3 of their 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Florida Panthers. They have been led in recent games by William Nylander. The star forward entered Game 3 with five goals in his last three games. While he has not scored, he did make an impact early in the contest.

Nylander provided an assist on a goal scored by John Tavares in the first period. This marked his sixth point in this series, and his second assist. This made it a 2-0 lead for Toronto at the time. And it allowed Nylander to achieve a feat last seen by franchise icon Doug Gilmour over 40 years ago.

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The Maple Leafs initially had a 2-0 lead in Game 3. However, they soon let this advantage slip away. The Panthers cut the deficit in half after an unfortunate bounce off Morgan Rielly's stick. Toronto did restore the two-goal lead. But the Panthers kept pushing and eventually tied the game at 3-3.

More than that, they took the lead in the second period. Thomas Nosek found the back of the net for the first time in these playoffs. The depth forward's goal gave Florida a 4-3 lead entering the second intermission. And, for the first time, it seemed as if Florida had a leg up over Toronto.

Unfortunately for the defending champions, it wasn't a lead they could maintain. Rielly made up for the unintentional error in the first with a goal in the third period. His goal tied the contest at 4-4, gave Toronto a new lease on life, and set the stage for a thrilling conclusion on Friday night. Neither team found the crucial winning marker in the third period. As a result, these two Eastern Conference heavyweights will settle the score in overtime.