SUNRISE, Fla. \u2013 The Winter Olympics now in their rear view, the Florida Panthers will resume their playoff push with a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.<\/p>\n
With 25 games left to play, the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (29-25-3) currently sit eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
From here on out, every game is massive.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re in that playoff mindset,\u201d head coach Paul Maurice said. \u201cEvery game is the only game that you\u2019re going to play. When it\u2019s done, you can\u2019t hang on to it. Good or bad, you\u2019ve got to move on to the next game and make the adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven of the 10 skaters that competed at the Winter Olympics for the Panthers won medals, with Matthew Tkachuk helping the United States capture gold for the first time since 1980.<\/p>\n
Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand won silver with runner-up Canada, while Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola took home bronze with Finland.<\/p>\n
Escaping the tournament unscathed, all seven players will suit up against Toronto.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good reset,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cIt was great for the guys that got to go over to the Olympics and play for their country and play for someone different, but at the end of the day we all play for the Florida Panthers, too. Just great to be back with the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinhart leads Florida in scoring with 55 points (27G, 28A), with Marchand sitting second with 50 points (25G, 25A). Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe are tied for third with 42 points.<\/p>\n
Set to man the crease against Toronto, Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 21-17-1 record with a 3.13 goals-against average, a .871 save percentage and three shutouts. In his career against the Maple Leafs, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner is 16-11-1 with a .905 save percentage.<\/p>\n
Getting closer and closer to full strength after enduring a storm of injuries this season, Tomas Nosek, Dmitry Kulikov and Jonah Gadjovich all participated in Florida\u2019s morning skate in regular jerseys, while Seth Jones is getting close to ditching his no-contact.<\/p>\n
Following their back-to-back against the Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers are hoping some returns could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell bring everybody on our road trip with the exception of (Panthers captain Aleksander) Barkov,\u201d Maurice said. \u201cWe\u2019ll bring them with the chance they may play at some point on that road trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Maple Leafs (27-22-9) sit two points ahead of the Panthers in the Atlantic Division and returned from the Olympic break with a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
John Tavares and Matthew Knies scored in the loss, while Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves.<\/p>\n
Up front, William Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 54 points (18G, 36A). Fresh off captaining the United States to a gold medal, Auston Matthew ranks second with 49 points (26G, 23A). Tied for third, Tavares and Knies have each racked up 48 points.<\/p>\n
With Stolarz starting against the Lightning less than 24 hours ago, Joseph Woll will likely get the nod in net against the Panthers. In 25 appearances this season, Woll has posted a 13-7-4 record on top of a 2.92 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and two shutouts.<\/p>\n
Looking for the first win of the season against the Maple Leafs, the Panthers have gone 0-2-0 while being outscored 8-2 through their first two meetings. Last facing each other on Jan. 6, Woll stopped 31 of 32 shots to lead Toronto to a 4-1 win over Florida at Scotiabank Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to flip the switch,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cBoth of our teams are out of the playoffs right now and need points. There\u2019s only 25 games left. It\u2019s only like a month a little bit left in the regular season. It seems hard how we\u2019re going to fit all these games, but we\u2019ll find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
THEY SAID IT<\/p>\n
\u201cThe buzz from our team and the women\u2019s team and all the Olympic athletes that had success, this buzz isn\u2019t going to go away for a long, long time.\u201d \u2013 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of those guys played at as a high level as you\u2019re going to see outside of the playoffs. Very fast, very quick. That\u2019s what we have to bank on. The guys that came back, they played. They didn\u2019t get a lot of rest? Fine. Our guys are used to that.\u201d \u2013 Paul Maurice<\/p>\n
FIVE CATS STATS<\/p>\n
– Sam Bennett is two assists away from his 200th NHL assist.<\/p>\n
– The Panthers are 14-1-1 when Anton Lundell scores.<\/p>\n
– Sam Reinhart has recorded a team-high 15 multi-point games.<\/p>\n
– A.J. Greer leads the Panthers with 145 hits.<\/p>\n
– Aaron Ekblad\u2019s 88 blocks are 22 more than his next teammate.<\/p>\n
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)<\/p>\n
Forwards<\/p>\n
Carter Verhaeghe \u2013 Evan Rodrigues \u2013 Sam Reinhart<\/p>\n
Mackie Samoskevich \u2013 Sam Bennett \u2013 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Eetu Luostarinen \u2013 Anton Lundell \u2013 Brad Marchand<\/p>\n
Sandis Vilmanis \u2013 Cole Schwindt \u2013 A.J. Greer<\/p>\n
Defensemen<\/p>\n
Gustav Forsling \u2013 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n
Niko Mikkola \u2013 Uvis Balinskis<\/p>\n
Donovan Sebrango \u2013 Jeff Petry<\/p>\n
Goaltenders<\/p>\n
Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n
Daniil Tarasov<\/p>\n
RECENT TRANSACTIONS<\/p>\n
– Jan. 21: F Jack Studnicka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)<\/p>\n
– Jan. 19: F Noah Gregor loaned to Charlotte (AHL)<\/p>\n
HOW TO WATCH\/LISTEN<\/p>\n
When: Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Where: Amerant Bank Arena \u2013 Sunrise, FL<\/p>\n
TV & Streaming:\u202fWSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV<\/p>\n
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade\/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM NHL Network Radio Channel 91\/SiriusXM App & Streaming 931<\/p>\n