Panthers, Maple Leafs limping to finishing line

TORONTO – Craig Berube stood behind a stunned and bitterly disappointed Maple Leafs’ bench last spring.

As the clock wound down and the Panthers started to celebrate their emphatic Game 7 victory in the second round of the playoffs at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto’s head coach pivoted to the off-season believing there was something to build on in 2025-26.

Florida, meanwhile, went on to hoist the Stanley Cup for a second straight June.

Fast-forward not even 11 months later, both clubs are in vastly different — and similar — positions near the bottom of the NHL’s overall standings.

“Tough for both teams,” Berube told reporters Saturday morning. “I wouldn’t have thought that, but circumstances, injuries … a lot of things play into it.

“That’s the way it goes sometimes in this league. It just shows the parity in this league. You can’t take a breath. There’s no easy teams.”

Despite missing a boatload of injured regulars in the waning moments of a lost campaign, Florida topped Toronto 6-2 on a night that meant nothing other than draft lottery positioning.

“All these games are weird when you know you’re out of the playoffs,” Maple Leafs winger William Nylander said after scoring both his team’s goals. “We’ve been competing good. But I think they were competing better than us.”

Toronto (32-34-14) also has injuries, including captain and star centre Auston Matthews, defenceman Chris Tanev and now goaltender Anthony Stolarz, but the Original Six franchise’s issues appeared long before the sick bay started to fill up, with the gaping hole left by Mitch Marner’s summer departure among the biggest.

“I’m trying to approach it like any other game and not get too concerned with where we’re at,” Maple Leafs netminder Joseph Woll said after his team fell to 0-4-1 over its last five contests. “But at the same time, obviously not very happy with the results recently.”

“We’re trying to end the season on some kind of positive note,” Nylander added. “That’s the focus.”

Florida (38-38-4) was without 14 regulars Saturday, a long list led by captain Aleksander Barkov, who hasn’t played at all this season, fellow forwards Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues, along with blueliners Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov and Seth Jones.

“Respect the game,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of his group’s approach with youngsters and call-ups occupying roster spots. “I think we did that.”

Florida is set to miss the post-season for the first time since 2019, while Toronto hasn’t sat out the NHL’s annual spring dance in a decade.

“It is difficult, no doubt about it,” Berube, a former NHL enforcer and Cup winner as coach, said post-game Saturday of suiting up in meaningless contests. “But you gotta perform and you gotta play. You gotta compete. I thought we competed. We didn’t go out there and not compete, but there’s just mistakes.

“Whether it’s turnovers or different plays and situations, there’s mistakes and they’re finding the way in the net.”

FIRST STEP

Maple Leafs defenceman William Villeneuve made his NHL debut after almost four full seasons in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies.

The 24-year-old from Sherbrooke, Que., who was selected 122nd overall in 2020, has 29 points (three goals, 26 assists) and 64 penalty minutes across 59 games in the AHL in 2025-26.

“It was unbelievable,” Villeneuve said. “A great experience. Wasn’t the result that we wanted, but I’ll remember that day for rest of my life.”

BIG FAN

Woll said he enjoyed watching Artur Akhtyamov make his first NHL start in Thursday’s 5-3 road loss to the New York Islanders.

The Russian netminder was under siege early — including 24 shots against in the first period — and finished with 39 saves.

“I love his game … he’s sick,” Woll said. “Pretty cool, from my perspective, to watch him.”

Woll added that Akhtyamov gives off similar energy to countrymen and NHL stars Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Bobrovsky.

“That Russian swagger,” he said. “Same kind of vibe.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2026.

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