Panthers rout the Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference final

TORONTO (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves, Florida scored three times in a 6:24 span in the second period and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 on Sunday night to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final, opening on the road Tuesday night.

Seth Jones, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich scored in the second-period burst and Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand — into an empty net — added goals in the third. Marchand, Luostarinen and Aleksander Barkov each had two assists.

“We were very quick at closing when pucks were coming around the wall,” said Marchand, a Maple Leaf killer in his Boston Bruins days who played in a Game 7 for the 13th time in his career and is 5-0 against Toronto. “They weren’t able to get a whole lot going.”

Max Domi scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll stopped 28 shots.

“I just don’t think we had our best stuff in the most important game of the season,” Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “That’s unacceptable. That’s the result you get when that’s the case.”

Jones opened the scoring at 3:15 of the second, beating Woll to the far post with a shot from the right side. Lundell struck at 7:18, putting in a rebound. Gadjovich followed at 9:39 off another rebound.

Domi cut it to 3-1 at 2:07 of the third, beating Bobrovsky between the legs. Luostarinen countered 47 seconds later for Florida, and Reinhart scored at 9:24.

The Maple Leafs led the Atlantic Division matchup 2-0 on the back of consecutive home victories before the Panthers won three straight to go up 3-2, the last a 6-1 romp in Game 5 that looked a lot like Sunday. Toronto staved off elimination with a 2-0 road victory Friday.

“The games were so tight,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who led his team past Toronto in five games in 2023 and is 6-0 in Game 7s. “This is a much better team than we played two years ago.”

The Maple Leafs have won just two series in 11 tries across the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era, with Marner set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“Just weren’t on the same page,” Matthews said. “It’s very, very frustrating.”

Added Marner: “Sadness, obviously, depression.”

Referee Chris Rooney left 13 seconds into the second period after Florida’s Niko Mikkola was jousting for the puck and his stick went into Rooney’s face. Garrett Rank took Rooney’s spot.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) speaks with teammates Tomas Nosek (92) and Aaron Ekblad (5) during the third period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) celebrates after his goal with teammates as Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) and others look on during the second period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) celebrates after scoring against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) during the second period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) celebrates after his goal with teammate Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen, center, celebrates after scoring against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) during the third period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Florida Panthers centerAnton Lundell (15) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) during the second period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas (7-8-1) at N.Y. Giants (3-13)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Cowboys by 3 1/2

Against the spread: Cowboys 7-9; Giants 7-8-1

Series record: Dallas leads 78-47-2.

Last week: Cowboys beat Commanders 30-23; Giants beat Raiders 34-10.

Last meeting: Dallas beat Washington 40-37 in OT on Sept. 14.

Cowboys offense: overall (1), rush (9), pass (1), scoring (4)

Cowboys defense: overall (30), rush (t20), pass (32), scoring (32)

Giants offense: overall (15), rush (6), pass (21), scoring (21)

Giants defense: overall (29), rush (30), pass (20), scoring (26)

Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-8; Giants minus-3

QB Dak Prescott has a 14-game winning streak against the Giants since two of his losses in a 13-3 rookie season in 2016 came against them. It’s the second-longest winning streak against a single opponent in NFL history behind Bob Griese, who beat Buffalo 17 consecutive times from 1968-79. Prescott will get credit for a Dallas victory because he is expected to start. The question is how long he will play in a finale with no playoff implications. Either way, this will go down as one of Prescott’s best seasons. He enters the final week first in the NFL with 4,482 yards passing.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson gets to put the finishing touches on his case for a new contract, either with the team that drafted him or elsewhere. Robinson last week became the first player 5-foot-8 or shorter to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving since 5-7 Richard Johnson in 1989 and just the third since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. And he's playing against a Dallas secondary without Trevon Diggs, who was released on Tuesday.

Cowboys' offensive line vs. Giants' pass rush. New York's Brian Burns trails only Cleveland record-chasing Myles Garrett in sacks with a career-high 16 1/2, while rookie Abdul Carter has heated up with 3 1/2 over the past four games. Dallas would like to keep Prescott upright, no matter how long he plays.

Cowboys: RBs Javonte Williams (stinger) and Malik Davis (calf/eye) have been ruled out. The backs with a chance to be active have 54 career carries among them: FB Hunter Luepke (32) and rookies Jaydon Blue (22) and Phil Mafah (0). Mafah has been out all season with a shoulder injury, and is listed as questionable ... LB DeMarvion Overshown and rookie CB Shavon Revel have been dealing with concussions and won't play.

Giants: Two starters in the secondary are out: CB Cor'Dale Flott (knee) and S Jevon Holland (knee/concussion).

The Cowboys have won nine in a row against the Giants and 16 of the past 17. It's the longest active series in the league. Dallas' last winning streak this long was against Carolina from 1998-2012. ... Each team has been eliminated from playoff contention. ... The Cowboys are trying to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since going 5-11 under coach Dave Campo from 2000-02. ... New York can still secure the top draft pick with a loss and Las Vegas victory against Kansas City or could drop as low as No. 7. ... This is expected to be interim coach Mike Kafka's final game with the Giants.

Cowboys WR George Pickens needs 80 yards receiving to reach 1,500 in his Dallas debut after the offseason trade from Pittsburgh. His only 1,000-yard season in three years with the Steelers came in 2023, when he had 1,140. … Ferguson needs one touchdown catch to tie the franchise tight end record of nine, held by Jason Witten and Billy Joe Dupree. … In their Week 2 game, K Brandon Aubrey had a tying 64-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and a winning 46-yarder as time expired in overtime in the 40-37 Dallas victory. ... Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has accounted for 22 TDs (13 passing and nine rushing) with just five interceptions, in his first 11 professional starts. ... Robinson led the team with 113 yards receiving at Las Vegas. He had 142 in Week 2 at Dallas, which was before top receiver Malik Nabers was knocked out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. ... LB Bobby Okereke intercepted Geno Smith and had seven tackles last week. ... CB Deonte Banks returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD against the Raiders.

Daily fantasy players might be able to cash in if Giants RB Tyrone Tracy has another big game rushing and receiving.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

FILE - Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is sacked by Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)

FILE - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) carries the ball after reception during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)