"Getting the first [goal] was important," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "I thought it flatlined a little bit after that for us. And then probably where the game doesn't break is Sergei Bobrovsky. Two or three breakaways tonight. I think he was the pivot point in the way that game went."

Behind Bobrovsky and a dominating, suffocating defense, the Panthers have won three straight games, turning a series that started with two consecutive wins for the Maple Leafs into one Florida can wrap up at home at Amerant Bank Arena in Game 6 on Friday (8 p.m.; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

From Morgan Rielly's goal at 10:56 of the third period in Game 3 to Nicholas Robertson's goal at 18:54 of the third period of Game 5 was a shutout streak of 143:25 for Bobrovsky and the Panthers, a run that saw the goalie set a franchise playoff record, besting the stretch of 141:31 by John Vanbiesbrouck in Games 3 and 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

"I think Sergei is always available to get into a groove," Maurice said. "I think his prep doesn't change. He has no idea about his stats. But I think recently, and it was true in the latter half of the Tampa series, the guys in front are playing a game he understands, that he has history with this year."

These are the games where the defense clamps down, where the shot total isn't big, where, as Maurice put it, "he never got warmed up in the game, didn't get a bunch of outside-angle shots that let him feel good about his game, it was a breakaway."

"He had lots of speed," Bobrovsky said. "He's an elite player. I was fortunate to get my gap. That's pretty much it."

Bobrovsky made the save, only his second of the game, at 8:35.

"Time and time again he makes those big stops for us," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "At this time of year, you need those timely stops. So another good performance by him."

It was still 0-0 at that point, still anyone's game, still a chance for the Maple Leafs to score first and to capture the momentum that Maurice doesn't believe in. Still a chance to turn the series in their direction.

But does he know when that's going to happen? When he's going to go on a run?

"It's tough to say," Bobrovsky said. "Every moment is a big moment, so you don't know how it's going to turn up. You're just trying to focus on one shot, one moment, and that's pretty much it."

Not that the Panthers expected any less.

"We trust in 'Bob' like you wouldn't believe," Ekblad said. "It's unwavering as a team and we're proud every night to play in front of that guy because he's going to give his best effort and put his best foot forward every night. There's no worries when you've got Bob behind you."

These Stanley Cup Playoffs have seen the mighty fall, at least as it far as it comes to goaltending.

Connor Hellebuyck? He's faltered and his Winnipeg Jets are on the brink of being knocked out by the Dallas Stars. Darcy Kuemper? His Los Angeles Kings are long gone, a victim of the Edmonton Oilers. And Andrei Vasilevskiy? He went down to Bobrovsky and the Panthers.

That's not a lot of production from the top three goalies in the NHL this season, from the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy.

Bobrovsky wasn't among them. He's still playing.

The questions? They'll come back again -- they always seem to. But for now, Bobrovsky is making the saves where he needs to. He's making the saves that matter.

"He's unbelievable," Mikkola said. "Gives us all five guys on the ice confidence, like if we're going to make mistakes, there's one guy who can back us up. He made great saves today and kept us in the lead today. So it's like [a] pleasure to have him."