“Locked in,” sounded a gleeful Justin Bieber on social media when the Leafs trampled the Florida Panthers in Game 2 on Wednesday. The international sensation pop star has been a loyal fan of Toronto over the years, and couldn’t be happier to see the team take the lead in Round 2 against the defending champs. However, tonight, the Grammy award-winning artist was in for a heartbreak.

Just minutes ago, at the Amerant Arena, the Panthers whipped up a clutch 5-4 performance to win Game 3 against the Maple Leafs to cut the latter’s lead in the series by half. Naturally, being the ardent Toronto fan he is, it was a hard thing to accept for Justin Bieber to see his team slowly inching closer to defeat. That, too, at the hands of a Canadian hockey icon.

The singer posted on Instagram on May 9, underscoring his queasy feelings in the stomach during tonight’s game between the Eastern Conference heavyweights. “11 min left send ur prayers up for the leafs,” Justin Bieber wrote in his post, desperately looking for any hope that could help Toronto continue its winning streak.

Coincidentally, Justin’s woes were brought about by Brad Marchand, a fellow Canadian. The former Bruins star joined the Cats in March after he was traded following 16 long years with Boston. Since then, Marchand has become a driving force behind Florida’s aggressive style of play, and today, he scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime to win the game 5-4—their first win in this year’s playoff Round 2.

The Leafs blew a lead not once, but twice, at tonight’s game. The Panthers came back from behind, once from 2-0 and once from 3-1, to win the game, something that has been almost impossible to do against Toronto in the 2024-25 season. Understandably, when the Cats managed to even the odds and send the game to OT, Bieber had his heart in a box.

The Leafs have only blown 11 leads all season, and none in the playoffs. However, with a resolute Sergei Bobrovsky guarding Florida’s net, the Cats’ offensive line kept pushing, and with goals from Marchand, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and Jonah Gadjovich, managed to run away with a thumping victory. Nothing less from the reigning champs! But will that glee last?

The Cats are in no mood to bring joy to Justin Bieber

With 98 points, the Panthers finished the regular season in third place in the Atlantic Division. Both the Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning were ahead of the Miami team, a fact that prompted many pundits to continuously discount Paul Maurice’s boys from the Stanley Cup contention. However, tonight’s game proved that the team isn’t ceding ground without a fight.

During the final stretches of the regular season, the Panthers climbed a steep uphill climb. With a number of stars being out of the roster, including Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Florida limped to the finishing line and somehow managed to secure its berth in the postseason. However, since the playoffs began, the stars are back and are already showcasing the Panthers’ signature aggressive play style in the best way possible.

In Round 1 of the 2025 playoffs, Florida trampled over arch-rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and took the best-of-seven-game series in 5 games (4-1). Now that the Cats have pulled one back against the Leafs, they’ll be looking to level the series, and with Game 4 set to be played at the Amerant Bank Arena, the ball is in Paul Maurice’s court.