Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers – previews, predicted lines and telecast information

The second-to-last regular-season game for the third-place Atlantic Division Maple Leafs will be about Auston Matthews' 70-goal streak, hoping to avoid further injuries and step up after conceding 10 goals in two games on home ice. To the Devil and the Red Wings (7:30 p.m. EST, TSN4).

The Panthers enter this game with a full offensive lineup but without Aaron Ekblad and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on defense, while the Leafs are fully healthy on defense but are missing Max Domi, Bobby McMann and Kalle Jarnkrok. Neither team is playing a Game 1 starter in goal (Anthony Stolarz starts tonight in Florida and Joseph Wall starts in Toronto).

Outside of a pre-playoff warm-up against a potential first-round opponent, Toronto really only has one big-time one-on-one, and Florida could win the division if it gets help elsewhere. They could play the Thunder instead of the Leafs in the first round and guarantee themselves home-ice advantage in the first two rounds, but they have to win tonight and Boston has to lose to Ottawa, so it's not theirs. hands.

Because of the injury situation (and the possibility of Wednesday being rested), it's unlikely we'll see the Leafs put together a playoff-heavy forward line tonight or tomorrow. Also, Ilya Samsonov, the starter of Game 1, will not be in net. But we see defensive pairings that could be Game 1 pairings (Rielly-Lybuskin / Benoit-McCabe).

The Joel Edmundsson-Timothy Liljegren pairing is a combined 5-1 in five-on-five goals, though it comes despite poor base numbers (43% CF, 44% xGF) and they need more reps before the playoffs — individually and together — due to recent injuries to both players. after a missed connection.

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Game Day Quotes

Sheldon Keefe on what type of game to expect given the situation of both teams:

I do not know. We will see. They play for something that is not in their hands. This is still game #81. Both teams know they are playing for something big to come.

I'm not worried about their group. I'm worried about ours and I want to make sure we play with good habits, good structure and all the things we've talked about that we want to reinforce.

As hard as it is to find the meaning of the game, you want to tighten up your details and make it a goal.

Keefe on how to manage the minutes of his top players:

The game is relatively normal in terms of playing to beat it. You want to see him closer to where he's been the last few weeks than last night. But we also play games.

Anytime you wear gear, you play to win the game and respond accordingly. You hope your guys don't have to stress too much.

Ryan Reaves faces a potential first-round opponent in Game #81:

These last two games should cheer up our team. We're going to play a team that's in the playoffs. You should set the tone for this series. I know they try to do the same in their stables. We have to be consistent with that. We have to go beyond that.

Paul Maurice Auston on the strategy to prevent Matthews from scoring his 70th in Florida:

It doesn't matter because he has almost 70 and everyone is ready to stop him. This has no effect.

It's a Toronto thing. That's exactly what I would do. At this time of year, when they are locked up, it comes out a quarter at best. But when you're sitting at 69 and there's a tie in the offensive zone, it's coming out again. And you should.

There is no vacation problem here. After this game we will all have two or three days off and he will be 100% fresh. I hope he gets it. I wish it wasn't so late, but it's a phenomenal story and a special one.

I would be the same. We're rooting for Sam Reinhart to hit 50. 50 goals is a big deal and then you get someone approaching 70…

We just wish it wasn't too late. How we will focus on their favorite players in each game. I hope he gets it tomorrow.

Maurice on his lineup decisions for the final regular season game:

We play to win. If there's one thing about our team, we're going to dress people who are healthy and ready to go, and that's what I like about it. I don't like guys sitting out because you have a week between games, I don't like it that much. Everyone plays.

Verhey is ready to go, so he's back in the lineup tonight. Ekman-Larsson does not play; it is possible, but it does not make sense to put it. We will leave.

Maurice on whether he has a chance to send a message before the Leafs vs. Panthers series tonight:

I never believed that. What happens tonight has nothing to do with how you got into the first game of the playoffs.

Both teams have respect for the other team. They have been quite successful in the games as well. The games have been fun and light during this year's regular season. A little more than we'll see in the playoffs.

Because we know each other so well, there are no new wrinkles, secrets or ideas. They have great players. We have great players. If we play each other, it will be a great series.

Maurice Carter on Verhaegh's return to the Panthers lineup:

When Carter went down, our power play went down a little bit. He's a fixer because he can ride the puck from the corner and he's such a good skater that it's amazing how he gets the puck. Just when you're batting around and everyone thinks they want to get it to Reinhart, Verheghe gets it in an unusual spot and it goes low and inside. It's a one or two when you need your power play to heat up. . He was our power play fixer.

This is very close to our (full) forward group. It's not like we've had that since Calgary five weeks ago. It's not like I put our group together once. We're getting a little closer to it.

Ekblad will be available for Game 1 and Ekman-Larsson will be back. Other than the things we can't control regarding tonight's game and this week's practice, we have to be very healthy.

Sheldon Keefe on the team's superior form on the road compared to home:

It's hard to say why. We know it's just a thing. We performed well. I think our mindset was good on the road and maybe not so good at home. There can be various reasons for this. I don't know what you can really catch there.

I know we're confident that if we play our game, we'll be successful wherever we play. This season we seem to be able to consistently get our game on the road. To that end, no matter where the games are played, no matter what building we're in, we walk in with confidence knowing that we need to get our game in order.

John Tavares on the team's strength this season:

We like to have our game really ready, no matter the situation or scenario on the road. We handled it very well. Whether the momentum was going our way or against us, our ability to stay with it, get the game back and get the momentum… Whatever the game required, we responded to what was required.

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Head-to-head stats: Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers

In preseason stats, the Leafs have the advantage over the Panthers in four of five offensive categories, but the Panthers have the edge in five of five defensive categories.

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The designed lines of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi vs. #34 Auston Matthews vs. #16 Mitch Marner
#23 Matthew Knice vs. #91 John Tavares vs. #88 William Nylander
#89 Nick Robertson vs. #29 Pontus Holmberg vs. #18 Noah Gregor
#24 Connor Dewar vs. #64 David Kampf vs. #74 Ryan Reeves

Defenders
#44 Morgan Rielly vs. #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
#2 Simon Benoit vs. #22 Jake McCabe
#20 Joel Edmundson vs. #37 Timothy Liljegren

Goalkeepers
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Ilya Samsonov

Drawn/rested: Martin Jones, TJ Brodie, Conor Timmins, Mark Giordano
Injured: Max Domi, Bobby McMann, Calle Jarnkrok

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Florida Panthers Projected Lines

Forwards
#10 Vladimir Tarasenko vs. #16 Alexander Barkov vs. #13 Sam Reinhart
#23 Carter Verhege vs. #9 Sam Bennett vs. #19 Matthew Tkachuk
#27 Etu Luostarinen – #15 Anton Lundell – #17 Evan Rodriguez
#12 Jonah Gadjovic vs. #82 Kevin Stenlund vs. #21 Nick Cousins

Defenders
#42 Gustav Forsling vs. #62 Brandon Montour
#77 Niko Mikkola vs. #26 Uvis Balinskis
#28 Josh Makhura vs. #7 Dmitry Kulikov

Goalkeepers
Starter: #41 Anthony Stolarz
#72 Sergey Bobrovsky

Injured/Out: Aaron Ekblad, Oliver Ekman-Larsson