No player has caused the Toronto Maple Leafs more playoff grief in recent years than Brad Marchand, but the Florida Panthers veteran believes this spring's version is different than years past.
"They're continuing to get better and grow as a group," Marchand said, per Sportsnet. "They brought in a lot of good pieces in at the deadline and the offseason to kind of address their back end. They're heavy back there. Obviously, their coaching has changed, and their structure is very, very good right now, especially in the D-zone."
Toronto took a 2-0 series lead Wednesday night with a 4-3 victory. Marchand scored his first playoff goal as a Panther in the loss. It was the 11th postseason tally of his career versus the Maple Leafs in what's now his fifth series against them.
The 37-year-old won four seven-game series over Toronto as a member of the Boston Bruins, including a first-round victory last year.
Boston's triumph prompted the Maple Leafs to replace former head coach Sheldon Keefe with Craig Berube, who guided Toronto to the Atlantic Division title in his first season with the club.
The defending-champion Panthers finished third in the Atlantic but dominated the Lightning in Round 1 to set up their clash with the Maple Leafs.
"We knew it was going to be a really tough battle, we didn't expect to roll over them by any means," Marchand said. "We have our work cut out. They're playing really well, and, obviously, their top guys are capitalizing on every opportunity, it seems like."
The Panthers are 0-5 all time when dropping the first two games of a series, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday as the series shifts to Florida.
