Maple Leafs Game 7 checklist: 3 things Matthews & co. need to ensure win over Panthers

By Nestor Quixtan

Modified May 18, 2025 15:18 GMT

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The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in yet another Game 7, this time against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena.

With a ticket for the Eastern Conference Final and a date against the Carolina Hurricanes on the line, the Toronto Maple Leafs will need to bring their best game of the season forward in order to reach their first Conference Final appearance since 2002.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the three things that Auston Matthews and his teammates will need to do to ensure a Game 7 victory over the Panthers.

3 things Toronto Maple Leafs must do to ensure Game 7 win over Panthers

#3 Avoid needless penalties

The Leafs will need to avoid careless penalties in Game 7's physical matchup - Source: Imagn

The Maple Leafs saw their disciplined game go out the window in Games 4 and 5. In Game 4, the Leafs racked up 27 penalty minutes, gifting the Panthers six power play opportunities. In Game 5, Toronto accrued 30 total penalty minutes and surrendered four power play chances.

The needless amount of penalties has been a major factor in the disruption of the Leafs’ structured defensive game.

When Toronto is able to stay out of the penalty box, they can establish a solid defensive game, which then opens up the ice for increasing offensive opportunities. Game 6 was a good example of that as the Leafs only took eight penalty minutes and won the game 2-0.

#2 Don’t give into the Panthers’ antics

Brad Marchand will look to pester the Leafs throughout Game 7 - Source: Imagn

The Florida Panthers will most assuredly deploy Brad Marchand as a pest extraordinaire to get into the Maple Leafs’ heads. After all, Marchand has won three Game 7s against Toronto. So, he knows exactly how to get into the Leafs’ heads.

That’s why Craig Berube must be smart in deploying his line changes. Since Game 7 is at home, Toronto has the last line change. That will likely mean deploying the Scott Laughton line to counteract Marchand’s influence.

By matching up Laughton and Calle Jarnkrok against Marchand, the Leafs can then allow the Barkov line to match up against the Matthews group.

Ultimately, it could mean that Game 7 will be decided by the John Tavares-William Nylander-Max Pacioretty combo as the Panthers will need to deploy their checking line against Tavares, Pacioretty and Nylander.

#1 Continue sacrificing the body

Chris Tanev will need to continue being a shot-blocking machine for Toronto - Source: Imagn

The Maple Leafs blocked a total of 31 shots in Game 6. That remarkable total avoided a significant number of scoring opportunities for the Panthers. As such, it allowed goaltender Joseph Woll to make the saves he had to.

Moving forward, the Leafs will need to continue sacrificing the body as the Panthers will likely come out hard in the first period. But if Game 6 was any indication, a strong first period by Toronto could swing the momentum, and the final score, in the Leafs’ favor.