Bobrovsky stops 23 shots, Panthers top Maple Leafs 2-0 in Game 4 and tie series at two games apiece
SUNRISE Fla AP Sergei Bobrovsky stopped shots for his fifth career playoff shutout Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett scored and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs - on Sunday night in Contest to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series Verhaeghe scored on a power play in the first period Bennett added the insurance total with left and Bobrovsky did the rest He s the first goalie with two shutouts this year in the playoffs Joseph Woll stopped shots for the Maple Leafs who took a - series lead with a pair of home wins and now return there for Championship on Wednesday night with the series tied Verhaeghe s goal came on Florida s fourth power play of the first period Matthew Tkachuk along the left-wing boards threaded a pass through the slot and past two defenders onto the waiting stick of Verhaeghe who slammed a one-timer past Woll It was part of a spree of shots early for Florida The Panthers took of the competition s first shots on net purely controlling play for long stretches and keeping all the action in front of Woll He held firm time and again keeping Toronto in it Bennett revealed enough He came in from Woll s left with Verhaeghe on the other side of the slot then waited for a passing lane When none appeared Bennett just went to the front of the net watched Woll commit then pushed the puck into the net before punching the air Florida has won consecutive playoff games going back to May when leading after two periods matched Edmonton for the majority wins in the NHL over that span The Oilers are - when leading after two since that date Oliver Ekman-Larsson part of the Florida association that won the Stanley Cup last season delivered a shot to the head and neck area of Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues about five minutes into in the third period It was originally called a major then downgraded to a minor after review The Maple Leafs not only killed the penalty off but they even had the best chance of those two minutes when Matthew Knies skated in on a short-handed try He missed the net That might have been the last great chance for Toronto
