Chris Johnston

4 days ago | nytimes.com | Chris Johnston

SUNRISE, Fla. - You can take Brad Marchand out of Boston, but you can't take him out of the nightmares of Leafs Nation. Marchand has been toying with and torturing the franchise for more than a decade, and on Friday he saw the Toronto Maple Leafs come within a shot of their biggest victory in a quarter century before snatching it away from them. In the process, Marchand effectively applied the defibrillator to the Florida Panthers' season.

5 days ago | nytimes.com | Chris Johnston |Joshua Kloke

The Toronto Maple Leafs came flying out of the gates in Game 3, but the Florida Panthers remain the reigning Stanley Cup champions for a reason. After allowing two quick goals and then allowing the Leafs to build a 3-1 lead, the Panthers stormed back with three unanswered goals in the second period to build a 4-3 lead. It was a lead they would give up in the third period, but Brad Marchand did what he does best and sunk the Leafs with an overtime goal.

5 days ago | nytimes.com | Chris Johnston

SUNRISE, Fla. - Gary Bettman says the NHL's two failed attempts at housing a team in Atlanta won't prevent the league from considering the growing push to bring another expansion franchise to that market. The NHL commissioner made those comments just days after prospective Atlanta owner Vernon Krause told 11 Alive that his group was on the "home stretch" of completing its formal expansion pitch. The NHL twice brought teams to Atlanta and saw them relocated.

6 days ago | nytimes.com | Chris Johnston

TORONTO - Anthony Stolarz will not make the trip to Florida with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates for Game 3 of their second-round series with the Panthers, head coach Craig Berube told reporters Thursday. The Leafs have not provided any formal update on Stolarz's condition since he was removed from the opening game of the series on Monday night. The goaltender threw up on the bench not long after a net-front collision with Florida's Sam Bennett in which Bennett's forearm caught Stolarz's head.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Chris Johnston

TORONTO - There is no active player more qualified to assess the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff chances than Brad Marchand. Not only is the Florida Panthers sparkplug currently taking part in his his fifth series against them as an opponent, and fourth in the Matthews/Marner/Nylander era, he's spent the entirety of a 16-year NHL career playing in the same division.