The Florida Panthers needed a late surge to clinch the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Now they’re in the conference final after pulling off a second consecutive upset.
The 111-point Toronto Maple Leafs were the latest victim as Florida beat them 3-2 in overtime in Game 5 Friday night on a goal by Nick Cousins. The Panthers have won seven out of eight games since falling behind 3-1 in the first round to the record-setting 135-point Boston Bruins.
Now, the Panthers have a chance to upset another 110-point team when they face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
The game had a controversy when an apparent tying goal by Toronto’s Morgan Rielly was waved off after a long review.
Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers in regulation. Rielly and William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs.
A look at the game and what’s next for both teams:
The controversial no-goal call
Rielly skated in and jammed a puck into Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period. He celebrated as though he had scored. One replay showed that the puck had fully crossed the line, but after a nine-minute review by the NHL’s situation room, the no-goal call was confirmed.
The explanation: The referee had deemed the play dead before the puck crossed the line, so it was disallowed under Rule 78.5 (xii).
Leafs fans were upset and threw objects on the ice.
What’s next for the Panthers?
They head to the conference final for the first time since 1996. The Hurricanes won the season series 2-1.
What’s next for the Maple Leafs?
Toronto reached the second round for the first time since 2004 but its win total was only five, far short of the 16 needed to win the Stanley Cup. That might cost general manager Kyle Dubas, who is in the final year of his contract and was very aggressive at the deadline. Coach Sheldon Keefe earlier signed an extension through 2023-24, but he could be out, too, if the Leafs make a change in the front office.
Most of the players that Dubas acquired at the deadline are pending unrestricted free agents, including Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari and Luke Schenn. So are longer-term Leafs players Michael Bunting (who received a three-game suspension in the first round), Alexander Kerfoot and Wayne Simmonds.
Toronto will also have to make a decision in net. Ilya Samsonov is a restricted free agent. The Leafs could choose to use him and Joseph Woll, who started Games 4 and 5 because of an injury to Samsonov, next season but would have to figure out what to do with the often-injured Matt Murray, who has one year left on his contract. .
Auston Matthews, who did not score against the Panthers, and Nylander have one year left on their contracts and are eligible for extensions after July 1.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Panthers top Maple Leafs in overtime game with no-goal call