Toronto Maple Leafs take a step forward in the postseason and waiting is defending champion Florida

Audio By Carbonatix

TORONTO (AP) — Is this Toronto Maple Leafs team different?

Ottawa forward David Perron had just tied Game 6 with a third-period goal from below the goal line off the back of netminder Anthony Stolarz to send the home crowd into a frenzy. Instead of folding — as so many Maple Leafs teams have in recent memory — Max Pacioretty scored the winner with 5:39 left in regulation as Toronto beat Ottawa 4-2 to take the best-of-seven Battle of Ontario in six games.

These Leafs have looked different most of this season. A different energy. A different feel. Calm, cool, composed. And off to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a rugged second-round opponent waiting: The defending champion Florida Panthers.

William Nylander, with two goals and an assist, and Auston Matthews provided the rest of the offense for the Leafs, who led the series 3-0 before their provincial rival won two straight to put pressure on a star-studded roster fighting demons of failures past. Pacioretty added an assist for a two-point night.

“Nothing else really matters,” said Matthews, Toronto’s captain. “The outside stuff doesn’t really matter. It’s about the guys that are in our room, and the belief in one another, doing it for one another. This one feels good.”

Stolarz made 21 saves as Toronto improved to 2-13 in potential series-clinching games since 2018 — an era led by Matthews, Nylander and Mitch Marner — and advanced in the postseason for just the second time in more than two decades.

“We’re playing for each other,” said Stolarz, who was on the Florida roster during last year's title run. “Everyone knows their role, everyone knows their job. We have the confidence.”

The Panthers are waiting after beating cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. The Panthers went 3-1-0 against the Maple Leafs during the regular season and outscoring Toronto 13-7 overall, with Sergei Bobrovsky in net each time and posting a 1.77 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

Steamrolled by the Panthers in the second round two years ago, the Leafs have added more grit and determination to the roster. They will need every ounce of it.

“They have a lot of good pieces,” said Toronto coach Craig Berube. “They’re hard to play against.”

Matthew Tkachuk and fellow forward Sam Bennett make a habit of wreaking havoc on opposing goaltenders, while Florida also added winger Brad Marchand — a Toronto nemesis from playoffs past — from the Boston Bruins ahead of the trade deadline.

“It’s going to be another hard series,” Matthews said. “We’ve definitely got to reset, do our homework, rest up, and go in there with confidence. And go in there with some pushback.”