Bobrovsky blanks Leafs, quickly eyes 'next one'

SUNRISE, Fla. -- It's a look the Florida Panthers support utilizing successful the playoffs: Take a pb aft 2 periods, past fto Sergei Bobrovsky and the defence bash the rest. And it worked again.

Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his 5th vocation playoff shutout, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett scored and the Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 connected Sunday nighttime successful Game 4 to adjacent the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Florida has won 25 consecutive playoff games erstwhile starring aft 2 periods, a streak that goes backmost to May 5, 2022. And successful helping to necktie the series, Bobrovsky officially enactment a dilatory commencement to rest. In Games 1 and 2 past week successful Toronto, helium allowed 9 goals en way to 2 losses. He returned to Amerant Bank Arena connected Friday nighttime for Game 3, and allowed 4 more.

"It's a series," Bobrovsky said. "The bigger games are ahead, truthful we're excited astir them. The bid comes down to a best-of-three, truthful it's a large game, adjacent one."

Home-ice vantage has held, and Toronto volition anticipation that inclination continues successful Game 5 connected Wednesday night. The Leafs won Games 1 and 2 astatine home, past dropped Games 3 and 4 successful Sunrise.

"We had looks," Toronto manager Craig Berube said. "They're doing a bully occupation of swarming america with numbers, obviously. ... It's a conflict retired there. This is what it is. They don't springiness you a lot."

Verhaeghe scored connected a powerfulness play -- Florida's 4th of the crippled -- successful the archetypal period, Bennett added the security people with 7:50 near and Bobrovsky did the remainder for his 2nd shutout of this postseason.

Joseph Woll stopped 35 shots for the Maple Leafs. "He was great," Berube said of his netminder. "He played an fantabulous game."

Verhaeghe's extremity came aft Matthew Tkachuk, on the left-wing boards, threaded a walk done the slot and past 2 defenders. It recovered Verhaeghe -- who slammed a one-timer past Woll.

That was portion of an aboriginal spree for Florida. The Panthers took 21 of the game's archetypal 26 shots connected net, controlling play for agelong stretches and keeping each the enactment successful beforehand of Woll. He held firm, clip and again, keeping Toronto successful it.

Bennett said enough. He came successful from Woll's left, with Verhaeghe other him, looking for a passing lane. When nary appeared, Bennett went to the beforehand of the net, watched Woll commit, past pushed the puck into the nett earlier punching the air.

"That was much similar the benignant of Panthers playoff hockey that we're utilized to," Bennett said.

It got chippy late, arsenic games this precocious successful a bid thin to do. Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- portion of the Florida squad that won the Stanley Cup past play -- delivered a changeable to the caput and cervix country of Panthers guardant Evan Rodrigues astir 5 minutes into successful the 3rd period. It was primitively called a major, past downgraded to a insignificant aft review.

Rodrigues volition request further valuation Monday, Panthers manager Paul Maurice said.

And 4 players -- Toronto's Max Domi for boarding Panthers skipper Aleksander Barkov; and Toronto's Bobby McMann, Florida's Aaron Ekblad and Panthers guardant Brad Marchand connected his 37th day -- each got 10-minute misconducts arsenic clip expired.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.