<p>Entering last night&#8217;s contest down 2-0 in the series, last night was about as much of a must-win as it could get for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Reverse sweeps are incredibly rare in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so bringing this series to 2-1 was of the utmost importance for the Leafs.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, they fell in overtime to the Panthers and find themselves down 3-0 in the series and on the brink of elimination. Here are the highlights from last night&#8217;s game.</p>
<p>Sam Lafferty opened the scoring just over two minutes into the first. David Kampf and Morgan Reilly picked up the assists on the goal.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">LAFF GETS US GOING!!! <a href="https://t.co/8jTkVnQgsa">pic.twitter.com/8jTkVnQgsa</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1655343072396337156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Lafferty&#8217;s goal would be the only tally of the first period. That means we&#8217;re headed for the second, where bad news struck for the Leafs. Less than a minute into the second frame, goaltender Ilya Samsonov went down in a heap after Luke Schenn crashed into him on the backcheck&#8230;</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ilya Samsonov is heading to the dressing room after a pile-up during the second period. <a href="https://t.co/O7OamT3H8C">pic.twitter.com/O7OamT3H8C</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1655356494131388417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Samsonov exited the game, with Joseph Woll taking over and Matt Murray coming down from the press box to serve as the EBUG.</p>
<p>The Leafs wasted little time busting out their pedestrian defence coverage, allowing Anthony Duclair to walk in all alone on Woll almost before the goaltender even had a chance to stretch.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE DUKE HAS THE MOVES 👑 <a href="https://t.co/m0z0AU0iYL">pic.twitter.com/m0z0AU0iYL</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1655358185157410816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Erik Gustafsson tied things up roughly five minutes later, with William Nylander and Jake McCabe picking up the helpers.</p>
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<p lang="und" dir="ltr">GUSSSSS!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/2I5mWQ5hBf">pic.twitter.com/2I5mWQ5hBf</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1655359428915281921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Carter Verhaege tied things up for the Panthers before the second period came to a close.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">TIED UP ‼️ <a href="https://t.co/7ACElrz58S">pic.twitter.com/7ACElrz58S</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1655364327891779586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>The two teams went back and forth in the third period, and Joseph Woll made a nice save on Sam Bennett to keep the game tied and force overtime.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Joseph Woll stops Sam Bennett’s between-the-legs attempt to keep the game tied 😮 <a href="https://t.co/qHs0DhGn3z">pic.twitter.com/qHs0DhGn3z</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) <a href="https://twitter.com/GinoHard_/status/1655379668420403201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Overtime ended quickly, with Sam Reinhart picking up last night&#8217;s game winner.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sam Reinhart scores the OT winner. What a sequence by the Panthers <a href="https://t.co/MPeIZhYlX0">pic.twitter.com/MPeIZhYlX0</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1655385509513035777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Shotty team defence cost the Leafs on the final goal, but last night was another night where the club&#8217;s top gunners failed to score. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander have yet to score in this series, and the Leafs are certainly feeling the effects of that. Game four is set for Wednesday at 7 PM ET.</p>


Entering last night's contest down 2-0 in the series, last night was about as much of a must-win as it could get for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Reverse sweeps are incredibly rare in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so bringing this series to 2-1 was of the utmost importance for the Leafs.

Unfortunately, they fell in overtime to the Panthers and find themselves down 3-0 in the series and on the brink of elimination. Here are the highlights from last night's game.

Sam Lafferty opened the scoring just over two minutes into the first. David Kampf and Morgan Reilly picked up the assists on the goal.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1655343072396337156

Lafferty's goal would be the only tally of the first period. That means we're headed for the second, where bad news struck for the Leafs. Less than a minute into the second frame, goaltender Ilya Samsonov went down in a heap after Luke Schenn crashed into him on the backcheck...

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1655356494131388417

Samsonov exited the game, with Joseph Woll taking over and Matt Murray coming down from the press box to serve as the EBUG.

The Leafs wasted little time busting out their pedestrian defence coverage, allowing Anthony Duclair to walk in all alone on Woll almost before the goaltender even had a chance to stretch.

https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1655358185157410816

Erik Gustafsson tied things up roughly five minutes later, with William Nylander and Jake McCabe picking up the helpers.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1655359428915281921

Carter Verhaege tied things up for the Panthers before the second period came to a close.

https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1655364327891779586

The two teams went back and forth in the third period, and Joseph Woll made a nice save on Sam Bennett to keep the game tied and force overtime.

https://twitter.com/GinoHard_/status/1655379668420403201

Overtime ended quickly, with Sam Reinhart picking up last night's game winner.

https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1655385509513035777

Shotty team defence cost the Leafs on the final goal, but last night was another night where the club's top gunners failed to score. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander have yet to score in this series, and the Leafs are certainly feeling the effects of that. Game four is set for Wednesday at 7 PM ET.

Panthers push Toronto Maple Leafs to the brink with overtime win: Game Highlights

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