TORONTO – The Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 5 Friday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s the second time in franchise history the Panthers have appeared in the conference finals and their first trip back since the 1995-96 season.
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Florida entered the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and advanced past the top-seeded Boston Bruins and then defeated the Maple Leafs in 5 games.
The Panthers put the first score on the board as Aaron Ekblad capitalized on an early power play chance less than four minutes into the opening frame.
Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren made a costly error after losing the puck to Anthony Duclair, who set up a Carter Verhaeghe goal, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers carried their 2-0 lead into the second period, when Morgan Rielly put Toronto on the board after Bobrovsky was screened in front.
Florida carried a 2-1 lead into the third period where it held until the final five minutes until William Nylander found the back of the net to tie the game 2-2 with only 4:23 remaining in regulation.
Panthers left wing Nick Cousins finally broke through with the game-winner to secure Florida’s win.
The Panthers will now face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Friday night’s win became the first time in sports history that two South Florida teams (Panthers, Heat) advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals on the same night.