toronto maple leafs playoffs florida panthers

Toronto Maple Leafs stay alive with big Game 4 win in Florida

They're still in a deep hole, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will have at least one win to show from their first trip to the second round of the playoffs in 19 years.

The Maple Leafs beat back the Florida Panthers' brooms with a 2-1 win in Game 4 at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday. The Panthers' lead in the best-of-seven series is now 3-1.

A fortunate bounce helped Toronto open the scoring on a power play in the second period. Michael Bunting tried to send the puck along the boards behind Florida's net, but it instead hit an official and redirected right to William Nylander in front of the net.  

With just under 10 minutes remaining in the third, Mitch Marner gave the Leafs a huge insurance goal with a long-range shot that snuck by Sergei Bobrovsky.  

The goal was Marner's third of the playoffs. The other two came back in Game 2 of the first round. After a scorching start to the postseason in which he had 10 points through the first four games, Marner entered Game 4 with just two points in five games since.

The breathing room didn't last long for the Leafs, though. Sam Reinhart, the overtime hero for the Panthers in Game 3, scored on a power play just two minutes later to make it a one-goal game again.  

After having to come in for an injured Ilya Samsonov early in the second period of Game 3, rookie goaltender Joseph Woll made his first career playoff start on Wednesday. Woll became the first rookie goalie to start a playoff game for the Maple Leafs since Felix Potvin in 1993.

This was the Leafs' first win in a playoff game deeper than the first round of the playoffs since April 30, 2004, when they beat the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 3-1 in Game 4 of their second-round series.

The Toronto victory means the series will move back to Scotiabank Arena for Game 5 on Friday. The Maple Leafs will need to improve on their 1-4 home record in these playoffs if they're to stave off elimination a second time.

Lead photo by

Twitter/Toronto Maple Leafs


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Sports & Play

Toronto Blue Jays selling super-cheap tickets for less than $10 each

Toronto traffic forces NHL team to walk to game against Maple Leafs

Former Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet goes viral after altercation with refs

This group of friends is making skateparks in Toronto more safe and inclusive

Runner turns Toronto map into a giant cartoon animation

Here's how to get tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Toronto

William Nylander models for new Toronto Maple Leafs collab with OVO

Toronto's free outdoor skating rinks are about to open for the season