NHL Drops Important Announcement About Game 6 Between the Leafs and the Panthers

Before the second round started, not many people gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a shot against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. A lot of that changed when the Leafs jumped to a 2-0 series lead, but they've since dropped 3 straight gamed, and are now on the brink of elimination.

They were one good bounce away from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead, but Brad Marchand scored the overtime winner in Game 3, which seemed to jumpstart the Florida Panthers, who haven't looked back with successive dominant performance in Games 4 and 5.

After an embarrassing defeat on home ice last night, the scene now shifts to Florida where the Panthers will attempt to use their home ice advantage to clinch their third straight Eastern Conference Finals berth.

That game needed a start time, and the NHL officially announced that Game 6 will start at 8:00 PM (EST) as reported by Colby Guy.

The core players have posted a 2-13 record in close-out games since 2018, and even dropped 2 games during their first round matchup against Ottawa after staking themselves a 3-0 lead. They closed things out in Game 6, but it was primarily off the back of William Nylander, and they will need some more of that magic on Friday.

William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares are a combined minus-8 and have all been held without a point over the last 2 games. The Maple Leafs were also a minute away from being shut out for the second straight game before a late tally by Nicholas Robertson.

The Leafs are going to need all hands on deck for Game 6 and it starts and ends with the core members. If they come out of the gates slow and uninspired, it will be a long night for all involved and that includes their fed up fan base, who shouldn't have to stomach any more disappointment than we already have.