SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves for his fifth playoff shutout, as Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett found the back of the net to lead the Florida Panthers to a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 on Sunday night. The win leveled the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Verhaeghe opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period, while Bennett sealed the victory with a goal late in the third period. Bobrovsky’s standout performance included becoming the first goalie in this year’s playoffs to record two shutouts.
Joseph Woll turned away 35 shots for the Maple Leafs, who had previously taken a 2-0 series lead with two home wins before the Panthers fought back to tie the series. The teams will head back to Toronto for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
In another game, the Dallas Stars defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 with Mikko Rantanen contributing a goal and two assists, including setting up Alexander Petrovic’s game-winning goal after a lengthy review. The goal, which came off a rebound from Rantanen’s initial shot, was eventually confirmed despite a kicking motion.
Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston also scored for the Stars, while Sam Steel and Mikael Granlund each had two assists. Rantanen’s impressive postseason continued with a total of 18 points, as he assisted on Hintz’s early power-play goal. The victory gave the Stars a 2-1 series lead, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night in Dallas.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made 23 saves, while Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets struggled, allowing five goals on 26 shots and dropping to 0-4 in road games this postseason.
