A tough end to the period
Despite all of the concerns Caniacs had, David Ayres made a play that led to a power-play goal. Coming out to play the puck away from a penalty killer, Ayres moved the puck to the corner, allowing the Canes to move the puck back up the ice. The ensuing rush saw Teuvo Teravainen find Sebastian Aho on the backdoor as he tapped home the puck to make it 4-1, giving the entire fan base a chance to breathe momentarily.
When I said momentarily, I truly meant it. Toronto's captain John Tavares scored 19 seconds later to cut into the Canes' lead, beating Ayres through his five-hole. Pierre Engvall would shrink the lead to one goal less than two minutes after that, beating the outstretched glove of Ayres to make it 4-3. Auston Matthews nearly completed the comeback, but Ayres made an incredibly awkward save against the goalpost as the rest of the defense dove into the crease to make sure the puck stayed out. Carolina narrowly escaped the period with their one-goal lead, but the remaining 20 minutes were going to feel like a lifetime.