The score was 3–2 in favor of Florida in matches before Friday evening's meeting outside Fort Lauderdale. But if the home team thought they were facing an easy win, they were wrong.
Toronto's goalkeeper Joseph Woll made 22 saves and kept a clean sheet throughout the match – and Florida's goalkeeper Sergej Bobrovskij achieved the same feat in the first two periods. It wasn't until the third period that Auston Matthews could deceive him with a determined shot from one of the face-off circles.
Later, Max Pacioretty extended Toronto's lead to 2–0. The win means that there will be a seventh match between the two teams, where the winner will play against Carolina in the semifinals.
It was a tough win, says Auston Matthews to AP after the match.
It was a big win from start to finish. We deserved it.
The mood was not as cheerful at Florida's team captain Aleksander Barkov.
You win or you learn something. Tonight, we learned something, he states after the match.
Winnipeg–Dallas: 2–3
Vegas–Edmonton: 1–4 (Edmonton advances)
Florida–Toronto: 3–3.
Washington–Carolina: 1–4 (Carolina advances)
The match series are decided in best of seven.
