TORONTO – In a battle between two teams vying for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers will visit the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
The first of two remaining head-to-head matchups over the final eight games of the regular season, the Panthers (44-26-4) trail the Maple Leafs (45-25-4) by just two points for first place.
A three-horse race, the Tampa Bay Lightning (44-25-5) also sit one point behind Toronto.
“I’m sure they’ll come out firing,” forward Mackie Samoskevich said of the Maple Leafs. “They’ll be feeling good right at the start, so we’ve got to be ready right away. I’m sure the building will be juiced.”
Letting a key point slip through their fingers less than 24 hours ago, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup following a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Leading 2-1 late in regulation on goals from Samoskevich and Niko Mikkola, the Panthers suddenly found themselves heading to overtime after Nick Suzuki scored with nine seconds left.
Keeping up his heroics, Suzuki then netted the game-winning goal 29 seconds into the extra frame.
In defeat, the Panthers allowed just five total shots on goal in the third period and overtime.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but credit to them,” Samoskevich said of the Canadiens, who are in a tight playoff race of their own for a wild card. “They’re in a playoff sprint here. They’re not giving up, for sure. I still liked our third period. We didn’t give up much in that third and played pretty well. Not the result we wanted, but it’s going to happen.”
With no morning skate on the second half of a back-to-back, information about Florida’s lineup won’t come until head coach Paul Maurice speaks to the media closer to puck drop.
Exiting early in the first period against the Canadiens following a collision with a teammate, Nico Sturm’s status remains up in the air after he was unable to return to last night’s game.
“We’ll get him looked at tomorrow,” Maurice said after the game. “Didn’t feel he could come back.”
If Sturm is unable to play in Toronto, Tomas Nosek or Jonah Gadjovich could slot in.
After backing up Vitek Vanecek in Montreal, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to be between the pipes against the Maple Leafs. Set to appear in his 750th NHL game, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner will become just the third active goaltender to hit that lofty number.
Still elite at 36, Bobrovsky is 31-16-2 with a .907 percentage and five shutouts this season.
“It’s going to be fun,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said of tonight’s tilt. “Playoff mentality.”
Going on a run in order to overtake the Panthers in the division, the Maple Leafs have won six of their last eight games, including going 2-0-1 on their recent three-game road trip through California.
Closing out their trip, they earned a 3-2 win at Anaheim on Sunday.
Tied 2-2 after two periods, former Panther and 2024 Stanley Cup champion Steven Lorentz put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2 at 11:35 of the third with what held up as the game-winner.
In net, Joseph Woll turned aside 29 of 31 shots to improve to 25-13-1.
"As a full team, we did a great job," Woll told NHL.com after the win. "We had some amazing blocks by our defensemen, and just a good job staying to our structure, staying patient and getting a tight win."
Having a great contract season, Mitch Marner leads Toronto in scoring with 91 points (23 goals, 68 assists), while William Nylander ranks second with 79 points, including scoring a team-high 42 goals. In third, John Tavares has 69 points and ranks second in goals with 35.
Since March 1, Tavares and Nylander have each logged 20 points in 15 games.
Always bringing their “A” game in this star-studded matchup, the Panthers have come out on top in each of their two meetings with Toronto this season, winning by a combined score of 8-3.
Last facing off on March 13, Sam Bennett scored a pair of goals and Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 25 shots to lead the Panthers to a 3-2 win at Scotiabank arena.
THEY SAID IT
“We’ve gotten better and better and better, and I still think we can be even better, which is the cool part. We’ll take that goal and keep getting better.” – Mackie Samoskevich on Florida’s power play
“Eighty-two games a year and you'll get one of those. We'll leave it here." – Paul Maurice on the nature of Tuesday’s loss to the Canadiens
FIVE CATS STATS
- Brad Marchand has tallied 57 points (21G, 36A) in 57 career games vs. Toronto.
- Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 38 points (20G, 18A) on the road.
- Sergei Bobrovsky ranks third among NHL goaltenders with 13 road wins.
- Sam Bennett leads Florida with four points (3G, 1A) vs. Toronto this season.
- Seth Jones is one goal away from his 100th NHL goal.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Check back closer to puck drop.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 18: D Tobias Bjornfot recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Watch Party: Funky Buddha Brewery
