Sergei Bobrovsky silences Toronto as Panthers storm to next round

The Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 on Sunday evening. Florida scored three early in the second period and never dropped behind. Sergei Bobrovsky saved 19 as the defending champs advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. They will play the Carolina Hurricanes next, with Game 1 Tuesday night on the road.The game was tight early on, but the second period saw all that change. Seth Jones scored first, with goals by Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich, all in less than six minutes. That put Florida up big by a 3-0 margin. Netminder Sergei Bobrovsky remained unflappable, stopping every Toronto opportunity in the second.In the third, Max Domi replied for the Leafs, but Florida quickly responded. Eetu Luostarinen scored 47 seconds later. Then Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand tacked on two more goals to seal it. Marchand, who has previously hurt Toronto as a Bruin, stated, "They weren't able to get a whole lot going." He now is 5-0 in Game 7s against the Leafs.Aleksander Barkov, Eetu Luostarinen, and Brad Marchand each recorded two assists. Joseph Woll stopped 28 shots for Toronto, but his team wasn't able to keep pace.Toronto had dominated this series 2-0 after winning two at home. Florida then took three in a row, including a 6-1 victory in Game 5. The Leafs won Game 6 on the road to force Game 7, but couldn't recapture that magic Sunday.Toronto's Morgan Rielly declared, "We didn't have our best stuff… that's unacceptable." Leafs coach Paul Maurice complimented his foes, stating they outplayed his 2023-winning Panthers. But his own Game 7 record remained unblemished now at 6-0.The Panthers now look forward. The Maple Leafs, however, are left asking themselves what had gone awry once again.Also Read: Panthers Overpower Leafs As Playoff Pedigree Shows Again