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The glass half-full might suggest pc28����can’t hold on to an edge in the third period. But the fact is they’ve nearly always surmounted a pushback by the opposition in the crunch. And they’ve been doing it all year: 19 one-goal wins in the regular season versus eight losses, four times in the post-season, plus popping a pair in five late minutes to eliminate the Senators.

That kind of nerviness has long been absent from this team and is arguably the most crucial element added under the tutorship of coach Craig Berube. They don’t get the willies under stress. And that’s become a strong factor in their success, up 2-0 against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“It’s just about being comfortable in those games,” said Morgan Rielly. “We talked about it all year. If we had it our way, we’d be up by a couple every night and not have to worry about it. But over the course of the season when you’re in those close games you become more comfortable and you have a better understanding for playing within structure and doing what you need to do down the stretch.”

The Panthers have a similar fortitude but pc28����has out-played Florida at their own game in several categories. Which is why the endlessly nettlesome Brad Marchand observed post-game on Wednesday, with a tone of some disbelief: “They came to play in this round and we see that.”

Rielly, he of the three goals in these playdowns, continued: “We’re playing against a team that’s also very comfortable in that situation. I would expect the games to be close and competitive moving forward. Obviously you’re happy to be up in the third but it’s nerve-wracking and challenging. It’s been a good test for our group that we’ve been able to stick together and execute.”

Patience, preaches Berube. But patience can dissolve under clock pressure. So it’s a credit to the Leafs that they haven’t lost their minds, hair on fire, with time ticking down. That arises from confidence, faith in one another to pull out those goals in the short hairs, goals that rip the opponent’s guts out, forces them chase the game under duress, which leads to mistakes, turnovers and breakaways. And the Leafs trust in their goaltending to make the clutch saves in tick-tick-tick chaotic episodes, as Joseph Woll did Wednesday and Anthony Stolarz before him.

(Stolarz, recovering from a double whammy to the brainpan in Game 1, did not accompany his teammates to Sunrise, Fla., on Thursday. It’s unclear when he’ll be fit to suit up again.)

The Panthers scarcely know what’s befallen them.

Two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky has been battered by muscular net presence. But the Leafs have also scored on the fly — two goals in Game 2 off the rush.

It all starts with the north-south game that Berube has imposed since his arrival. Few wide-out sorties on the offensive surge anymore. An aggressive forecheck that puts the Panthers back on their heels, as pc28����forwards streak in or cut through behind them.

Marchand again: “Their biggest threat is they’ve been very good on the rush. You’ve got to be above them. It seemed like every time we gave them the opportunity to get above us, they created something or they capitalized on it. It just shows how dangerous they are.”

How dangerous? Nine goals on 50 shots through two.

Of course, it might all go pear-shaped for the next couple of tilts at Amerant Bank Arena, where the Panthers posted a 27-12-2 record this season. The Leafs are a darn good road team, however – 25-13-3 and beat Ottawa twice in their in their building in the opening round. While nobody should underestimate Florida, they’re 0-5 all time in a best-of-seven series when falling behind 2-0.

“They’re going to try to feed off the energy that building is going to bring,” warns Steve Lorenz. “They’re not just going to roll over.”

The ex-Panther knows whereof he speaks. He’s been offering insight to his teammates, particularly in thwarting Florida’s intense forecheck, and not to be seduced into a defensive mentality with the lead on late stages.

“We can’t sit back. We don’t want to play passive in the O-zone and kind of cheat to make sure we’re back in our own zone on defence. We’ve been doing it all year. Play hard down in the corners, have a responsible third forward and if they transition — which they do well — we’ll have guys back to…track hard.

“It’s no secret. We’ve been doing a good job of it this series and limiting their chances off the rush. This is a team that doesn’t give you a whole lot and you’ve got to take advantage of the areas when they lapse. We did a good job forcing them to get out of position, with speed off the puck, taking pucks to the net.

For all their physical prowess, the Panthers have been worn out by counter-pressure on Toronto’s forecheck. They’ve worn themselves out.

“It doesn’t always happen on the first shift,” said Lorenz. “It takes time to wear them out, get to know where they’re pinching.

“You play a chess game after that.”

Not one a grandmaster would recognize, though.