SUNRISE, Fla. – In what could end up being a preview of things to come in the playoffs, the Florida Panthers (44-29-4) will host the Toronto Maple Leafs (47-25-4) at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
“We know what type of team they are, and we know what type of team we are,” forward Brad Marchand said after Tuesday’s morning skate at Baptist Health IcePlex. “Both teams are going to want to send a message of what we’re going to bring if we match up in the playoffs.”
Taking the ice without six of their top 10 scorers, the Panthers closed out their road trip with a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday
Third in the Atlantic Division with 92 points, the Panthers trail the Tampa Bay Lightning (96) by four points for the second spot and are two points ahead of the Ottawa Senators (90), who hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
A tight race where anything could happen, there’s no fear in the battled-tested locker room.
“We’ve been through something like this before,” forward Sam Reinhart said. “There’s no panic, there’s no sense of urgency. I think there’s things in our game that you could look at that we are doing very well, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Playing the right way and not wavering from their game, three of Florida's last five losses have been one-goal games, not counting an empty-net ending in the 4-2 loss against Montreal on March 30.
During the stretch, the Panthers have out-shot their opponents 156-116.
“The biggest thing is making sure we’re playing the right way going into playoffs,” said Marchand. “We’ve lost some games lately, but if you look at the way we’re losing, we’re playing strong hockey. We’re doing a couple opportunities a game and running into some hot goalies, but that’s going to happen.”
Owning a 2-1-0 record against the Maple Leafs this season, most recently falling 3-2 on April 2 in Toronto, the Panthers will see the return of Aleksander Barkov, who’s missed the last three games with an upper body injury, Reinhart, who gained some valuable rest on Sunday after not missing a game since the 2022-23 season, and Gustav Forsling, who also rested during the Detroit game.
Familiar with finding the scoresheet against Toronto, Reinhart has tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in three head-to-head matchups this season.
“It’s nice this time of year when you get that many bodies out there,” Reinhart said of the almost full morning skate on Tuesday. “Especially guys that have been out for quite some time, when you start to see them coming back, it provides a spark you want at this time of year.”
Skating with the team this morning but not returning to the lineup, Nico Sturm (undisclosed) will be available to play next game and Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) is tracking to return at some point during Florida’s back-to-back that closes out the season, according to head coach Paul Maurice.
Maurice also reported that Sam Bennett will likely miss the rest of the regular season.
“I just don’t think he’s going back in,” Maurice said of Bennett, who racked up a career-high 50 points this season, including 25 goals. “We’re going to take the time for the rest of the season.”
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net Tuesday night.
Giving Amerant Bank Arena plenty to cheer about, the 36-year-old has posted an 8-2-0 record, .936 save percentage, 1.49 goals-against average and two shutouts in his last 10 starts at home.
Flying into South Florida with an 8-1-1 record over their last 10 games, the Maple Leafs hold the top spot in the Atlantic Division with 98 points.
With a game in hand, Toronto has a two-point lead over the Lightning.
Winners of four straight, most recently beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 on Saturday, the Maple Leafs are 5-0-1 in their last six games.
Carrying the scoring during that time, the core of Toronto has been all over the ice.
Mitch Marner (two goals, seven assists), William Nylander (six goals, three assists and John Tavares (six goals, three assists) have each notched nine points in the last six games.
In the same span, Toronto captain Auston Matthews (three goals, five assists) and Matthew Knies (goal, six assists) have both been over a point-per-game.
Between the pipes, Joseph Woll is expected to start for the Maple Leafs.
This season, Woll owns a 25-13-1 record, .906 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average.
THEY SAID IT
“Feeling as good as you can at this time of year is important.” – Sam Reinhart on getting rest before playoffs
“I like the way we communicate. We talk a lot on the bench and they’re both great players.” – Brad Marchand on playing with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sergei Bobrovsky has a .920 save percentage against Toronto this season.
- Florida has outscored Toronto 10-6 in three meetings.
- Uvis Balinskis has 51 blocked shots this season.
- Tomas Nosek is 51.5% in the face-off circle.
- Florida is 7-1-0 in their last eight home games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Jesse Puljujarvi – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Nate Schmidt
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Jaycob Megna – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 6: F Jesse Puljujarvi recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 6: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 6: D Matt Kiersted recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 2: D Jaycob Megna recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 2: D Tobias Bjornfot assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Tickets: **Click Here**
