The Toronto Maple Leafs have a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Florida Panthers. On Monday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, the Maple Leafs defeated the Panthers 5-4 in a rather high scoring contest.
William Nylander of Calgary, Alberta led the Maple Leafs in scoring with three points. He had two goals and one assist. Matthew Knies, Max Pacioretty, and defensemen Chris Tanev of Toronto, Ontario and Jake McCabe also had multi-point games. Knies and Tanev each had one goal and one assist, while McCabe and Pacioretty had two assists each. The other Maple Leafs goal scorer was defenseman Morgan Rielly of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The other big story in game one was the Maple Leafs goaltending situation. In the second period, Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz collided with Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Stolarz went to the bench after the next television timeout. He was extremely sick, and the Maple Leafs made a goaltending change, as they put Joseph Woll in between the pipes.
Game two of the series is Wednesday in Toronto. Even though the Maple Leafs have the series advantage, one must be conscious of the fact that the Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions.