William Nylander and Matthew Knies each had legitimate opportunities to win the game for Toronto in overtime before Brad Marchand’s deflected shot beat Joseph Woll at 15:27 of the extra period. Marchand's goal, his 14th postseason winner, gave Florida a 5-4 win and cut the series deficit to 2-1, still in favor of the Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Game 3 in Florida with a 2–0 series lead. Game 3 was going to be the Maple Leafs’ biggest test as the Florida Panthers would look to avoid going down 3–0 in the series.