Florida Looks To Finish Off Maple Leafs, Edmonton Aims To Take Series Lead Over Vegas

By NHL Public Relations

May 12,2023

A PAIR OF GAME 5s TO HIGHLIGHT FRIDAY

The Panthers have their second opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Final while the Maple Leafs aim to force a Game 6.

Meanwhile, both the Oilers and Golden Knights have the chance to take a series lead in their Second Round matchup – one that has seen the teams trade wins through the first four contests.

* The Panthers currently lead the NHL with five road victories and have not lost a contest as the visitors since Game 1 of the 2023 First Round. Florida can establish a franchise record for the most road wins in a single postseason should they leave Scotiabank Arena victorious Thursday (5 in 1996) and can become the second team in the past decade to post a road winning streak of six-plus games in a playoff year. Colorado, with a seven-game run last postseason en route to its Stanley Cup championship, is the only team to accomplish the feat since 2013.

* Mitchell Marner currently leads the Maple Leafs in points through the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and recorded a multi-point outing in Game 4 to help the club extend their series. The Maple Leafs had 27 home wins during the regular season – behind only the Bruins (34), Lightning (28) and Hurricanes (28) – and were led in those contests by Marner (15-36—51 in 40 GP) at Scotiabank Arena, which was tied for the third-most assists at home in a single season in franchise history.

* Mark Stone enters Game 5 with 4-7—11 (9 GP) and can match the franchise benchmark for most points through the first 10 games of a postseason should he find the score sheet Friday – the mark he set in 2019 despite skating in just seven contests (6-6—12). Following a loss in the playoffs, Stone owns career totals of 6-9—15 across 30 games.

* Evan Bouchard (4-11—15 in 10 GP), who currently leads all defensemen in scoring this postseason, aims to continue his breakout and help Edmonton gain a 3-2 series lead before heading north of the border for Game 6. The blueliner has been contributing to an Oilers power play operating at a 44.1% success rate (15 for 34) – by far the highest on record in a postseason. Bouchard has the most power-play points by any player through 10 playoff games (4-9—13) since Mario Lemieux in 1992 (15).