Leafs HC Craig Berube gets honest about facing ‘Stanley Cup Champions’ Panthers ahead of Round 2 battle

Craig Berube and the Toronto Maple Leafs are getting ready to try and knock off the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

For the second time in three years, the Maple Leafs will host the Florida Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida quickly sent Toronto packing in their 2023 matchup, winning the series in five games.

The Panthers made it all the way to the finals that year before falling short against Vegas. One year later, they came back and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. And now in 2025, they're once again a force to be reckoned with.

Head coach Craig Berube knows they will be underdogs against the reigning champs, but he believes in his team, too. He spoke to the media on Monday and shared his thoughts on matching up against the Panthers. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun shared his comments on X (formerly Twitter).

"Anytime you're playing the Stanley Cup champions you're going to be the underdog. They've proven they're a great team over the last few years. We're a good team too. We're approaching this business-like, we've got to go out and do our job and play the way we can," Berube said.

The Maple Leafs had a tough time against the Panthers during the regular season, going 1-3-0 while being outscored 13-7 in those games.

Panthers HC Paul Maurice gave Craig Berube some praise on Monday

Paul Maurice was complimentary of the Craig Berube-coached Toronto Maple Leafs prior to Game 1.

Florida's bench boss was asked about what's different with Berube leading the group. TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun shared his comments on X.

"I think there’s more patience in their game than maybe in the past …. I would say a more mature game," Maurice said.

This will be the second head-to-head matchup between Paul Maurice and Craig Berube in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Berube's St. Louis Blues got the better of Maurice's Winnipeg Jets in six games during their first-round series back in 2018-19. St. Louis notably went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.

Game 1 of the second round between the Maple Leafs and Panthers will go down on Monday night in Toronto. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Scotiabank Arena.