After conceding an early series lead, the Leafshopeto break a 2-2 tie as they take on the Florida Panthers in Game 5 in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Follow live commentary from the Star’s Bruce Arthur throughout the game.
Olivia Chow is holding a game 5 watch party in Scarborough
pc28Mayor Olivia Chow is watching the Leafs take on the Panthers at a free outdoor viewing party at the Scarborough Civic Centre on May 14, 2025.
Rory Ditchburn / Office of Mayor Olivia Chowpc28Mayor Olivia Chow is watching game 5 tonight at Maple Leaf Square East. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to cheer alongside her.
The free outdoor viewing party, hosted by TCEU Local 416, starts at 7 p.m. at the Scarborough Civic Centre.
“Let’s show our team spirit and enjoy an unforgettable night in the heart of Scarborough,” reads an email from the mayor’s office.
“No tickets required – just bring your Leafs pride!”
Florida's Rodrigues will sit after taking OEL hit
The Panthers will be minus winger Evan Rodrigues after he took a big hit from Ekman-Larsson — the play resulted in an interference penalty — in Game 4.
Jesper Boqvist, who was a healthy scratch the last two games, will draw in. He took the spot of Rodrigues on Florida’s top line at the morning skate alongside Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
Leafs to welcome fans inside Scotiabank Arena for Friday's Game 6 in Florida
The pc28Maple Leafs will see a full house when they host the Florida Panthers in Game 5 on Wednesday night, and they can count on half the house to cheer them on when the series returns to Sunrise, Fla. for Game 6 on Friday.
For the first time in over a decade, MLSE will open the door at Scotiabank Arena and allow fans to flock inside and fill out the lower bowl during Game 6 for a public viewing party on the big screens. Fans will have to pay a $15 entry fee, with proceeds supporting youth sports access programming through the MLSE Foundation.
🚨 GAME 6 VIEWING PARTY 🚨
— pc28Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
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“As we continue to prioritize access,we are proud to host this family-friendly event to give fans a unique experience inside Scotiabank Arena while also improving youth access to sport through event donations to MLSE Foundation,” said MLSE’s chief marketing officer Shannon Horford in a statement.
Maple Leafs' Game 5 lineup vs. Panthers is a bit of a mystery after odd morning skate
Maple Leafs forwards, left to right, Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, during practice at the Ford Performance Centre in Toronto, May 13, 2025.
Andrew Francis Wallace/pc28StarThe Maple Leafs have some “game-time” roster decisions for Game 5 tonight, as coach Craig Berube denied there was a bug going through the room.
Things sure did seem odd at the optional morning skate as the Leafs prepared for the Florida Panthers at the Scotiabank Arena.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who missed Tuesday’s practice due to sickness, was present and is available for tonight’s game. But David Kämpf, who has been a healthy scratch and would typically be expected to skate with the spare players, was not present.
Meanwhile the rest of the Black Aces — the healthy scratches who would normally stay out for longer skates — all left the skate early, suggesting they are conserving energy. Those include Nick Robertson, Ryan Reaves, Alex Steeves, Philippe Myers, Dakota Mermis and Jani Hakanpää.
TTC adding extra service for Leafs, Blue Jays and TFC home games Wednesday night
The downtown core will come to life on Wednesday night with the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and pc28FC all playing at home.
Here’s what you need to know about getting around the city on Wednesday night.
Some streets could be closed — potentially resulting in diversions — due to the “high volume” of fans expected to pack streets tonight near Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Centre, the TTC said in a news release.
Extra subway trains will be running on Line 1 Yonge-University, the transport agency said, adding that more TTC staff will be helping to direct crowds and answer questions at Union Station.
Misfires and misconducts: The Maple Leafs and Panthers know each other too well heading into Game 5
Mitch Marner didn’t have a single shot on goal in two losses in Florida: “Everyone wants to produce. We’ve had opportunities, we’ve had looks. They just haven’t dropped yet.’’
Claus Andersen/Getty ImagesA half-beat slow on shots goes a long way toward explaining 1-for-8 on the power play in the last two games.
Twenty-nine shots that missed the net entirely goes a long way toward explaining back-to-back losses and the Florida Panthers rising from the 0-2 grave they’d dug for themselves against the Maple Leafs.
Zero shots for Mitch Marner across the brace of games at Amerant Bank Arena.
The reek of Game 4 has followed the team to Toronto. They’re verbally spritzing the air freshener.
Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who hasn’t played sincean elbow to the headin Game 1, worked with assistant coach Curtis Sanford before Tuesday’s practice.
Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who hasn’t played sincean elbow to the headin Game 1, worked with assistant coach Curtis Sanford before Tuesday’s practice.
From a distance and with the benefit of slo-mo review, spared the vexation of being harassed and hounded by an opponent of signature physicality, it’s easy for the rest of us— fans watching anxiously at home and the chattering commentariat— to spot how the Leafs got themselves into a knotted pickle where 15 minutes ago they appeared in strong control of their Atlantic Division series.
Too deliberate with the man advantage for one thing, looking for that high-leverage shot. Split-second hesitation that gives defenders time to drop a block, impede with a stick; for the goalie to track and set positionally. Insufficient net-front mayhem.
They know it. They’ve been schooled in it by coach Craig Berube throughout the playoffs. They’ve had an extra day between games to watch the video.
But still the hand-wringing questions are being asked: What the heck are they doing? Where have the smart, savvy Leafs gone?
Let Marner answer.
“They’re trying to make us really work, doing to us what we’re trying to do to them. Trying to skate us out, make us tired, and then make plays underneath us.’’
On Tuesday morning, following a full-on practice, Marner was attempting to decipher the wayward power play on which he’s the fifth forward— Berube has gone with that format all year. No shots off his stick as the primary playmaker setting up the gunslingers clearly aggravates. He needs to generate more shots, which is precisely the gospel that Berube has continuously preached. Yet his snipers aren’t sniping.
“Trying to get yourself in better areas,’’ said Marner of the wayward PP. “I tried to get shots through in the last game. They did a good job of blocking them. Myself, trying to work around it, trying to find sticks a lot of the time … cause havoc down low, that’s what my game is.’’
Muscular Florida D-men, especially the monstrous pairing of Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones, have thwarted the Leafs time after time.
“They’re lengthy, they’re strong, they’re big,’’ said Leaf Matthew Knies, who could just as easily be describing himself. “That’s how their whole D-corps is built. But that’s almost every NHL team these days. Obviously I’m a bigger player and stronger, so being around the net is the best place for me. It’s where the goals are scored, especially in the playoffs and that’s definitely one of my jobs.”
“The Grade A’s aren’treally there as much,’’ Knies added of top-quality scoring opportunities, in particular when the Panthers have a lead and settle into their hard forecheck deny-deny-deny posture. “We’ve got to execute and bury the puck when we do get those chances.’’
Pressure to score has landed hard on Auston Matthews, who’s yet to turn the light red against Florida. He’s the captain, he makes the big bucks— more than anyone else in the NHL— and he should be the straw that stirs the drink. It’s obvious, however, that something is physically amiss and has been this entire season, and possibly he reinjured his hand blocking a shot in the Ottawa series. If so, it hasn’t bothered him in the faceoff circle, but he was leading all playoff skaters with 23 missed shots in 10 games. That’s weirdly un-Auston.
“Everyone wants to produce,’’ said Marner. “Everyone wants to score goals, especially Auston. He doesn’t let it get down on him. His mood, his energy, his demeanour in the locker room has been unbelievable through it all. Just got to stay patient. This is a hard team to score against. We’ve had opportunities, we’ve had looks. They just haven’t dropped yet.’’
And, frankly, they played mighty dumb in Game 4: seven penalties, four in the first period —three of them undisciplined and the fourth a sloppy puck over the glass. It will be intriguing to see whether Berube makes any lineup changes, perhaps swapping in Nick Robertson, who has his drawbacks but also presents more offensive skill.
As well, everyone is wondering whether the nastiness at the buzzer Sunday— misconducts issued to Max Domi, Bobby McMann, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad— will spill over into Wednesday’s Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena. The series was always thumping and snot-nosed; now it’s full metal jacket malevolent.
Max Domi's hit on Sasha Barkov sparks chaos at the final horn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
The lingering image from Florida’s five-game dispatch of the Leafs two springs ago was Radko Gudas (long gone now) roaring like the MGM lion in the face of Joseph Woll after the overtime goal that eliminated Toronto.
What sticks in the craw at the moment, menacingly, is Matthew Tkachuk leaning toward William Nylander on the bench at the end of Game 4, pointing his stick at Toronto’s leading goal scorer and saying —according to lip readers— “I’m going to get you.’’
Perpetually mellow Nylander wasn’t fazed then. Berube isn’t worried now.
“He probably didn’t hear him. He doesn’t even hear me.’’
Maple Leafs notebook: Stolarz takes shots, Tkachuk’s Nylander taunt misses target
Leafs forward William Nylander gets in some work during Tuesday’s well attended optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre ahead of Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Florida Panthers.
Andrew Francis Wallace/pc28StarAfter a lacklustre Game 4 that saw the Maple Leafs get shut out on the road by the Florida Panthers, Tuesday’s optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre was understandably all business.
In fact, it was optional in name only. Blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the only Leaf from Sunday’s lineup who didn’t take part, and that was because of illness.
The most intriguing sight was goalie Anthony Stolarz, who hasn’t played since an elbow to the head by Florida’s Sam Bennett in Game 1. Stolarz took shots from goaltender coach Curtis Sanford prior to practice.
It's harder to score in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has become Exhibit A
pc28Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews during an optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre in Toronto, May 13, 2025.
Andrew Francis Wallace/pc28StarMike Bossyand Mario Lemieux. That’s the extent of the list of players who rank ahead ofMaple LeafscaptainAuston Matthewsinin the modern era.
Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy. Those are the two players atop the
And where does Matthews sit on that esteemed list? Spoiler alert: It’s not third. That’d be Barry Pederson. It’s not fourth, fifth nor sixth. That’s Maurice Richard, Cam Neely andWayne Gretzky.
The Maple Leafs didn’t just lose two games in Florida, they let the Panthers rediscover their game
Florida Panthers players clash with pc28Maple Leafs players after Game 4 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla.
(AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)They were staying at an oceanside hotel and some among the group spoke of the restorative value of a dose of sun and sand, but to a man the Maple Leafs characterized their long weekend by the Atlantic seaside as strictly a business trip.
Considering how they turned a 2-0 series lead into a 2-2 series deadlock in their best-of-seven second-round matchup with the Florida Panthers, let’s just say Toronto’s once-bustling playoff-hockey business went bust on the beach. After blowing a pair of two-goal leads before losing Game 3 in overtime, most of the Maple Leafs showed up way late to Sunday’s Game 4.
If not for a stellar performance in goal from Joseph Woll, who kept the Leafs in a game in which they were badly out-shot, out-skated and out-chanced, it’s possible the Leafs would have lost in an embarrassing blowout. As it was, the Panthers eked out a 2-0 win that didn’t do justice to the extent of their superiority.
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