It has been three weeks since the Florida Panthers limped into the Olympic break with a lopsided loss in Tampa, but today is a new day with the Toronto Maple Leafs coming to town.
The Panthers know the challenge in front of them if they hope to make the playoffs and defend the Stanley Cup for a third straight year.
It’s not going to be easy.
They have put themselves in this position.
But a few wins to kick things off — Toronto tonight, Buffalo in Sunrise tomorrow — would go a long way in Florida feeling good about things.
The Leafs came into the break with wins in three straight but lost 4-2 in Tampa on Wednesday; the Panthers lost five of six including 6-1 to the Lightning.
Coach Paul Maurice changed things up a little bit after having 27 players take part in Thursday’s morning skate.
Mackie Samoskevich moves up to play with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk; Florida’s top power play looks like Sunday’s gold medal game with Tkachuk, Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Sam Reinhart joined by quarterback Uvis Balinskis.
Evan Rodrigues did not take part in the morning skate but will play tonight.
Maurice said Dmitry Kulikov, Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones, and Jonah Gadjovich will travel with the team on the upcoming road trip which starts Sunday against the New York Islanders.
Sasha Barkov could join practice in the coming weeks — in a no-contact jersey, of course.
NOTES: LEAFS at PANTHERS
The Panthers are going to honor all of their Olympians tonight with a special pregame ceremony for the Team USA gold-medal winners including Matthew Tkachuk, Bill Zito and Teddy Richards. Toronto’s Auston Matthews will also be honored.
Should the Panthers follow the Miami Heat’s lead and honor their gold-medal winners with a banner at the arena? We think so.
Four things the Panthers can do to get back in this thing.
Sergei Bobrovsky is rested and ready to face the challenge of helping lead the Panthers into the playoffs. And he wants to stay in Florida with the Cats.
Starting Goalies: Bobrovsky is back for the Panthers; Joseph Woll is expected to play for the Leafs after Anthony Stolarz played last night in Tampa.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are back on local television tonight with all your favorite broadcasters calling the action. To stream, use Panthers+ locally or ESPN+ nationally.
NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are favorites (-150) on the money line at the local book. To win with Florida, a $150 bet wins $100.
ON DECK: GAME No. 58
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (29-25-3) LINES
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 13 Sam Reinhart
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 63 Brad Marchand
11 Mackie Samoskevich // 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk
15 Sandis Vilmanis // 79 Cole Schwindt // 10 A.J. GreerÂ
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 26 Uvis Balinskis
6 Donovan Sebrango // 2 Jeff Petry
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
40 Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Jesper Boqvist, Luke Kunin, Toby Bjornfot
Injured: Seth Jones (collarbone), Sasha Barkov (knee), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
PROJECTED TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (27-22-9) LINES
74 Bobby McMann // 34 Auston Matthews // 11 Max Domi
63 Matias Maccelli / 91 John Tavares // 88 William Nylander
23 Matthew Knies // 55 Nicolas Roy // 89 Nicholas Robertson
18 Steven Lorentz // 24 Scott Laughton // 81 Dakota Joshua
44 Morgan Rielly // 25 Brandon Carlo
22 Jake McCabe // 95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
2 Simon Benoit // 28 Troy Stecher
60 Joseph Woll
41 Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Easton Cowan, Phillippe Myers, Calle Jarnkrok
Injured: Dakota Mermis (knee), Chris Tanev (groin)
