TORONTO – Trading the sun for snow, the Florida Panthers will kick off a six-game road trip with a division matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Sitting at 22-16-3 in the standings and just two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers will play 10 of their next 13 games this month on the road.
After some early-season adjustments, they’ve won six over their last seven road games.
“The standings right now, every team is so close in the East,” forward Brad Marchand said. “Every night is so important, especially the divisional games, which we have a bunch of this week. They’re going to be really important for all the teams. It starts tonight.”
Picking up two points before leaving town, the Panthers enter tonight’s game after taking down the top team in the NHL with a 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
With the Avalanche on the second half of a back-to-back, the Panthers didn’t give their opponent time to recharge as Sam Bennett made it 1-0 just 6:27 into the first period.
After Artturi Lehkonen made it 1-1, Aaron Ekblad put Florida up 2-1 in the second period.
Standing tall between the pipes, Daniil Tarasov, who was named the first star of the game, stopped 27 of 28 shots for the Panthers, who split their season series with the Avalanche.
“Everyone is fighting for a playoff spot this early,” forward Sam Bennett said.
With his goal against Colorado, Bennett extended his point streak to nine games.
In addition to matching his jersey number, it also stands as the longest streak of his career.
During his streak, he’s tallied 10 points (4G, 6A) to help Florida go 5-3-1.
Always at his best against the Maple Leafs, Bennett has helped the Panthers eliminate Toronto two of the last three years in the playoffs with seven points (4G, 3A) in 12 games.
In May, the Panthers bested the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of Round 2.
“It was a big one,” forward Brad Marchand said of the team's last trip to Toronto. “They just seem like they’ve become a hard team to play against. That was much a tougher series than, I think, we thought it was going to be. That was a big win. Obviously, it was a must-win for us and a big one to make sure we were prepared moving forward.”
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net for the Panthers.
Tied for third in the NHL with 17 wins, the two-time Vezina Trophy has been strong on the road this season, posting a 7-3-0 record with a .903 save percentage in 10 appearances.
With Seth Jones (upper body) considered week-to-week after being hit up high with a puck during the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, it remains a full team effort on the back end for Florida.
In terms of positive injury new, Matthew Tkachuk shed his no-contact jersey this morning.
"We're not in full heavy contact with him,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the star forward’s rehab. “The next box that has to get checked is that he has to be able to get leaned on, push himself, recover for a day or so, see how he goes back on the ice."
Sitting at 19-15-7, the Maple Leafs extended their point streak to six games in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders in their last outing at UBS Arena on Saturday.
Auston Matthews scored twice in the loss, while Joseph Woll made 21 saves.
Looking at the team’s scoring leaderboard, William Nylander leads Toronto with 41 points (14G, 27A), while John Taraves ranks second with 37 points (15G, 22A). Starting to really come into his own at 23 years old, Matthew Knies ranks third with 36 points (11G, 25A).
Like the Panthers, the Maple Leafs will be missing some key players tonight.
Nylander (lower body) was placed on injured reserve on Monday, while defenseman Chris Tanev (groin) and forward Dakota Joshua (upper body) are out with long-term injuries.
Banged up in net, former Panthers goaltender Anthony Stolarz (upper body) is also on IR.
Meeting for the second time this season, the Maple Leafs earned a 4-1 win over the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Dec. 2. Troy Stecher, Scott Laughton, Joshua and Tavares all lit the lamp for Toronto, while Woll was a brick wall with 25 saves in net.
Owning an 8-4-2 record, Woll is expected to start for Toronto.
“We’ve got to make sure we have our best game and start our road trip off on a good note,” Marchand said. “We’ve just got to keep rolling. The points are so important for both teams right now. They’re going to feel desperate, and we’re going to feel the same.”
THEY SAID IT
“It’s fun having him (Matthew Tkachuk) out there. He’s so energetic and mouthy out there. He’s always chirping and keeps things light. You can say that he looks really good. He’s got an extra step right now.” -- Brad Marchand
“There’s definitely a lot of memories coming back here, a lot of hard-fought games. Some big wins. Definitely enjoy coming back in this building and always have a lot of friends and family in the building, so enjoy that as well.” -- Sam Bennett
FIVE CATS STATS
- Florida owns a 94.7% success rate on the penalty kill over its last seven road games.
- Brad Marchand has scored seven goals in his last 11 games.
- Sam Reinhart has scored two shorthanded goals on the road this season.
- The Panthers are 11-1-1 when Anton Lundell scores a goal this season.
- Carter Verhaeghe ranks third on the Panthers with six multi-point games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist – Luke Kunin – Noah Gregor
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Donovan Sebrango – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 4: D Tobias Bjornfot was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
TV & Streaming: TNT, HBO MAX
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click Here
