Panthers' Maurice: Leafs didn't deserve to get 'killed' for Game 5 blowout

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice believes the Toronto Maple Leafs' effort in Game 6 was similar to Game 5 despite the significantly different scores.

"Not nearly as much (changed for Toronto from Game 5 to Game 6) as everybody in this room is gonna write," Maurice said. "They worked hard. They played hard tonight. But I thought that, the last game - they got killed for that last game, (and) they didn't deserve to, in my opinion."

Toronto forced a Game 7 with a 2-0 win on Friday. The Leafs were blown out 6-1 on home ice in Game 5 on Wednesday and were showered with boos from the Toronto crowd.

"We had four knucklers go in," Maurice explained. "(Game 5) was a pretty tight game. It didn't feel like that on the scoreboard, but when you watch the game and you look at the analytics, the 6-1 game was the second-tightest game of the series. So, this one will look a lot like that. Two pretty good offensive teams, there really isn't a whole lot to be had out there."

Scoring chances were 22-17 in the Panthers' favor in Game 6, according to Natural Stat Trick, but Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll stifled Florida with his first playoff shutout. The Panthers had a larger advantage in Game 5, outchancing Toronto 30-19.

"They played hard, we played hard (in Game 6)," Maurice said. "It was tight. We probably had four go in last game that I'm not sure you're counting on that happening on a regular basis, or even every 10-20 games. We had a couple go off sticks. So, when you get into a 0-0 game, (it's) just gonna be tight."

Game 7 goes Sunday in Toronto.