TORONTO — Nick Cousins scored at 15:32 of extra time and Sergei Bobrovsky made 50 saves because the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in Game 5 of their second-round playoff collection on Friday to advance to the Eastern Conference closing.

Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe every had a objective and an help to assist the Panthers construct a 2-0 lead within the first interval.

Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs, who had superior within the playoffs for the primary time in 19 years once they beat Tampa Bay within the first spherical. Rookie goalie Joseph Woll had 41 saves in his first house playoff begin.

In the additional interval, Cousins buried his second objective of the playoffs off the frenzy short-side on Woll to ship the Panthers to the convention finals for the primary time since 1996.

Florida - the staff with the fewest factors to qualify for the postseason - received all three video games in Toronto and improved to 6-1 on the street within the playoffs after additionally upsetting the record-setting Boston Bruins. The Panthers will subsequent face the Carolina Hurricanes, who additionally beat the New Jersey Devils in 5 video games.

Woll was coming off a 24-save effort in a Game 4 win that averted the sweep.

The Maple Leafs now face an unsure offseason regardless of its breakthrough in opposition to the Lightning. General supervisor Kyle Dubas doesn’t have a contract past June 30, whereas there have additionally been rumblings about the way forward for coach Sheldon Keefe. Nylander and Auston Matthews each have one 12 months remaining on their contracts and may signal extensions as of July 1, whereas fellow star ahead Mitch Marner’s no-movement clause kicks in the identical day.

Toronto’s high-powered offense - together with the so-called “Core Four” of Matthews, Nylander, Marner and John Tavares - scored simply thrice within the collection for a staff that totaled simply 14 objectives over its closing seven playoff video games, together with a paltry 10 in opposition to the Panthers.

The Leafs completed the post-season 1-5 at house.

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