By Basil Stroh
5 5 2025
FAMILIAR FOES, FORMER TEAMMATES FACE OFF IN GAME 1 BETWEEN TORONTO, FLORIDA
The Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Monday, with former teammates and familiar foes facing off when the Maple Leafs host Panthers in Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena. This will mark the second all-time playoff meeting between the two clubs, following the 2023 Second Round which saw Florida score the overtime clincher in Game 5 en route to its historic appearance in the Final.
* Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz and Anthony Stolarz, who were acquired by Toronto in the offseason, won the Stanley Cup with the 2024 Panthers and are set to face off against their former club Monday. The only playoff series in NHL history where three players dressed against a team that they captured a Cup with during the previous season was when Kings teammates Wayne Gretzky, Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley skated seven contests versus the reigning-champion Oilers in the 1989 Division Semifinals. Gretzky, Krushelnyski and McSorley were dealt to Los Angeles by Edmonton in the “Trade of the Century” on Aug. 9, 1988.
* Auston Matthews leads the Maple Leafs into their Second Round series against Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers after eliminating his brother, Brady, in the First Round, both of whom were his teammates on USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. The Maple Leafs are the first team to earn a series win against a player and then face that player’s brother in the next round since the 2020 Golden Knights (Jordie & Jamie Benn in R2 & CF, respectively).
* Mitch Marner will clash with several of his 4 Nations Face-Off Canada teammates, including Brad Marchand – a familiar postseason foe of the Maple Leafs. Marner (5-7—12 in 10 GP) needs one point to surpass Mats Sundin (8-4—12 in 12 GP), Borje Salming (3-9—12 in 19 GP) and George Armstrong (8-4—12 in 21 GP) for the third most in Game 1 in franchise history. Meanwhile, Marchand (9-19—28 in 27 GP) is two points shy of becoming the fifth active skater with 30 points in Game 1 of a playoff series – he would join Evgeni Malkin (15-21—36 in 29 GP), Sidney Crosby (14-20—34 in 31 GP), Nikita Kucherov (13-18—31 in 27 GP) and Nathan MacKinnon (13-18—31 in 16 GP).
COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS
