It’s the weekend that turned the hockey world upside down.
The best regular season team of all time — particularly dominant in the third period all year — continued to forfeit playoff leads in the final frame of Game 7 en route to the biggest first-round upset in recent NHL history.
Verhaeghe send the Bruins home! The biggest upset in the salary cap era is complete!
— Drew Livingstone (@ProducerDrew_) May 1, 2023
Matthew Tkachuk: "It really is the biggest upset in NHL history to every single other person other than the guys in that room".
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 1, 2023
An interesting statistical nugget: The Bruins passed the Maple Leafs for the most Game 7 losses by an NHL franchise with this loss (15). It’s time to pass the torch…
— Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) May 1, 2023
Tonight’s result in Boston could also be looked at as a double-win for the Leafs, pushing up the Bruins’ first-round pick Toronto acquired in the Rasmus Sandin trade with Washington to 28th overall.
The Panthers certainly look like the far easier matchup on paper based on all regular-season indicators, but Florida entered the first round playing desperate hockey down the stretch in order to sneak into the playoffs and quickly embraced a plucky underdog playoff identity in their series versus Boston.
Despite losing the possession battle at five-on-five, they actually edged the Bruins in control of both high-danger chances and expected goals at five-on-five, and they got the better goaltending when it counted late in the series.
The series will start Tuesday night in Toronto. We’ll have lots more breaking down the Leafs vs. Panthers matchup tomorrow morning from Anthony Petrielli.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers -- Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoff Schedule
The Panthers won the best-of-seven series 4-1.
| Date | Time | Home Team | TV Network/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, May 2 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Toronto | 4-2 Loss |
| Thursday, May 4 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Toronto | 3-2 Loss |
| Sunday, May 7 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Florida | 3-2 Loss |
| Wednesday, May 10 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Florida | 2-1 Win |
| Friday, May 12 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Toronto | 3-2 Loss |
