Turns out winning their first Stanley Cup Playoffs series in nearly two decades was the easy part for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The euphoria of that triumph over Tampa Bay did not carry over into the second round with the Leafs now trying to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the surprising Florida Panthers on Wednesday, May 10. Barely getting into the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers rallied to stun the highly favored Bruins in the opening round winning the final three games of that series. They extended their winning streak to a club record six games with a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday putting them on the brink of a trip to the East Final. Out west the Vegas Golden Knights regained home ice clamping down on the explosive Oilers in a 5-1 win on Monday night. Vegas can take a commanding 3-1 lead with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday.
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NHL Playoffs Schedule for Wednesday, May 10
Toronto at Florida, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Vegas at Edmonton, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NHL Playoffs Picks for Wednesday, May 10, 2023
It’s happened a handful of times in the past so there is hope for the Maple Leafs. Unlike the NBA, the Stanley Cup playoffs have seen teams rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. It’s just not a position any team wants to be in. Toronto is in a tough spot because they’ve been unable to penetrate Florida’s defensive structure. The Leafs ranked among the top 10 in goals during the regular season but have just two in each of the first three games of this series cashing the UNDER each time.
Dating back to the first round the Leafs have exactly two goals in five straight games which isn’t a recipe for success. They did beat the Lightning 2-1 in OT to clinch the series, but dropped the other four wasting strong defensive efforts. And the Leafs could be without No. 1 goalie Ilya Samsonov, who was injured in the second period of Game 3 leaving the ice with Toronto leading 1-0.
The situation in net is troubling with Matt Murray still out and Samsonov day-to-day. Joseph Woll took over on Sunday allowing three goals on 21 shots. Woll played in seven games during the regular season boasting a 6-1-0 record and 2.16 GAA, but the playoffs are a different animal. And netminding hasn’t been an issue for Florida with Sergei Bobrovsky stopping 93.8 percent of Toronto’s shots in the series. The Panthers are on a roll doing nearly everything right with contributions up and down the roster. It’s hard to sweep a series but I do like Florida to get the job done on Wednesday.
Knowing how to beat Edmonton and actually doing it are two entirely different things. Vegas more than got the job done on Monday night holding Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet in a 5-1 win. It was quite a different pace for Vegas after surrendering nine goals in the first two games against the NHL’s highest scoring offense. Puck possession and playing 5 on 5 were areas the Golden Knights said they needed to be better, and they were on Monday.
Vegas got a lift from backup goaltender Adin Hill, who pitched a shutout after taking over for starter Laurent Brossoit in the first period. Vegas had five different netminders start a game during the season with all of them performing well, according to coach Bruce Cassidy. Brossoit got the nod ahead of the postseason starting each of the team’s first eight games. Hill is in line to start Game 4 if Brossoit can’t and will face a much different Oilers team. Playing with a sense of urgency I anticipate Draisaitl and McDavid to have more of an impact leading Edmonton to a series tying victory.
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