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Toronto Maple Leafs (7-6-3, 18th in NHL) vs. Florida Panthers (8-7-1, 17th in NHL)

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. ET
Arena: Air Canada Centre
Watch: TSN4


Game Day Notes

– The Panthers are the first team the Maple Leafs will play for the second time this season after the Leafs took a 3-2 decision at the Air Canada Centre ten games ago on Oct. 28. Mitch Marner’s line led the way, combining for all three goals, while Frederik Andersen came up with a big third period to hold on as the Leafs sat back on their heels with the lead.

– Coming off of the 7-3 loss to the Lightning at the time, that win marked beginning of Andersen’s turnaround after a tough start to the season. He entered that Oct. 28 contest with one win in five starts and a .851 save percentage. Including the Panthers win, Andersen is 6-3-0 with a .928 save percentage since.

– The Panthers reside middle of the pack-ish in nearly all major statistical categories but are the sixth-best team by score-adjusted CF% and enter the game having won two consecutive. Their struggles on the road have been their biggest stumbling block early in the season (2-4-1). The Leafs enter the game 6-2-0 on home ice.

– Nazem Kadri played over 11 minutes of his 14:58 in ice time (all even strength) against Aleksander Barkov in the teams’ first meeting; Barkov was kept off the scoresheet and generated just one shot on goal. Barkov has just three points (all assists) in his last 12.

– Given the nod by head coach Gerard Gallant this time around, James Reimer will start against his former team for the first time since the trade last deadline. Reimer is 2-2-1 this season with a 2.73 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Reimer remains the only Leafs goaltender with a playoff win since Ed Belfour in 2003-04.

– William Nylander skated at center in the morning skate with Auston Matthews absent while Peter Holland took Tyler Bozak’s place, but both Bozak and Matthews are expected to play tonight, according to Mike Babcock.

– After two games in the press box, Connor Carrick enters the lineup in Martin Marincin’s place. Yesterday after practice, Babcock spoke on what improvements the coaching staff is looking for in Carrick’s game: “I think Connor is a good player. We’ve talked to him about staying out of too many physical confrontations and using his skating and his skill much more than he was. That’s the challenge for him, but he’s a real good player and we like his upside.”


Matchup Stats

Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com

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Overall StatsFlaTor
Points1717
Record %0.5310.531
Home Winning %0.6670.75
Away Winning %0.3570.313
Shootout Winning %00
Goal Differential Per Game0.19-0.38
Shot Differential Per Game1.94-1.56
Hits Per Game19.327.1
PIM Per Game8.612.4
Opponent PIM Per Game9.613.8
Goals Per Game2.753.13
Even Strength Goals Per Game2.062.44
Power Play Goals Per Game0.560.63
Shots Per Game30.732.8
Shots Per Goal11.210.5
Team Shooting %0.090.095
Power Play %0.1580.233
Goals Against Per Game2.563.5
ES Goals Against Per Game1.942.94
PP Goals Against Per Game0.560.5
Shots Against Per Game28.7534.31
Shots Against Per Goal11.229.8
Opp. Team Shooting %0.0890.102
Penalty Kill %0.8130.833
Save %0.9110.898
Goals Against Average2.513.47
Shutouts00
Opponent Save %0.910.905
Opponent Goals Against Average2.73.1
Opponent Shutouts11

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards

Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov

Defence

Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak

Scratched: Martin Marincin, Frank Corrado, Peter Holland

Goaltenders

Frederik Andersen
Jhonas Enroth


Florida Panthers Projected Lines

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault – Aleksander Barkov – Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen – Vincent Trocheck – Reilly Smith
Seth Griffith – Denis Malgin – Colton Sceviour
Greg McKegg – Jared McCann – Kyle Rau

Defencemen

Keith Yandle – Jason Demers
Mark Pysyk – Aaron Ekblad
Michael Matheson – Alex Petrovic

Goaltenders

James Reimer
Roberto Luongo


Morning Skate: Mike Babcock

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