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Panthers rally past Leafs for 2-0 lead; Stars-Kraken series evens

Forward Sam Bennett and the Florida Panthers now own a 2-0 lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Photo by Arc1294/Wikimedia Commons
1 of 3 | Forward Sam Bennett and the Florida Panthers now own a 2-0 lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Photo by Arc1294/Wikimedia Commons

May 5 (UPI) -- Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling scored three unanswered goals to power a comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, giving the Florida Panthers a 2-0 lead in their NHL playoff series.

The Panthers trailed 2-0 within the first 5:10 before they rallied for the 3-2 Game 2 triumph Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.

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Lundell and fellow forwards Matthew Tkachuk, Anthony Duclair and Sam Reinhart also logged assists for the Panthers. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves.

"We believe in each other and believe in our system," Barkov told reporters after the Panthers win. "Obviously, Bobrovsky has been huge for us. That's all it takes. We came here. We had a plan and we did as well as possible."

Later Thursday, the Dallas Stars beat the Seattle Kraken in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series. That series is now tied 1-1.

Forward Alexander Kerfoot gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead 2:20 into the first game of the night. Fellow forward Ryan O'Reilly doubled the lead with a power-play score less than three minutes later.

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Lundell cut the deficit in half with 8:47 remaining in the first period. Barkov tied the score 19 seconds into the second. Forsling then beat Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov for the go-ahead score 47 seconds later.

Neither team scored for the final 38:54.

The wild card Panthers will host the No. 2 Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be Sunday in Sunrise, Fla. The winner of the series will face the top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes or No. 2 New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. The Hurricanes lead that series 1-0.

In Thursday's nightcap, forwards Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin each registered a goal and an assist in the Stars' 4-2 win over the Kraken. Forwards Joe Pavelski and Evgenii Dadonov also scored in the 4-2 victory Thursday in Dallas.

"We made some adjustments and did them well," Seguin said. "They are going to Seattle and make some adjustments. We gotta be ready. It's going to be a fun series."

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made 25 saves in the victory. Forwards Tye Kartye and Jordan Eberle scored for the Kraken. The No. 2 Stars will face the wild card Kraken in Game 3 of the series at 9:30 p.m. Sunday in Seattle.

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The winner of the Kraken-Stars series will face the top-seeded Golden Knights or No. 2 Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals.

The Golden Knights lead that series 1-0.

The Hurricanes will host the Devils in Game 2 of that series at 8 p.m. Friday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The Golden Knights will host the Oilers at 7 p.m. Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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