Toronto Maple Leafs (14-12-7, 23rd in NHL) vs. Florida Panthers (15-14-6, 22nd in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: BB&T Center
Watch: Sportsnet
Game Day Notes
– After starting (and winning) both games in the back-to-back before Christmas, Mike Babcock confirmed yesterday that the Leafs will give Frederik Andersen a night off tomorrow. Babcock mentioned that the coaching staff needs to make sure their red-hot starting goaltender gets adequate rest if he’s going to stay healthy, considering he’s never shouldered that type of workload before in his career. Andersen is currently on pace to play 70 games.
Jhonas Enroth rejoined the Toronto Marlies today, meaning we’re looking at Antoine Bibeau’s second start of the season tomorrow in Tampa Bay.
– The Leafs will get Tyler Bozak back in the lineup, where he’ll skate in his familiar spot between JVR and Mitch Marner. William Nylander will join Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov — a combination Babcock has put together frequently on the road — while the red-hot Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and Connor Brown will remain intact. Byron Froese has been returned to the Marlies, leaving Frederik Gauthier to center the fourth line with Ben Smith still recovering from surgery.
– The Maple Leafs are 2-0-0 in the season series versus Florida after 3-2 and 6-1 wins on home ice in late October and mid-November. The Panthers have since become the talk of the league, firing head coach Gerard Gallant, installing then-GM Tom Rowe behind the bench, and later restoring Dale Tallon’s previous level of authority within the team’s nontraditional management structure. Most recently, owner Vinny Viola left his post as chairman and governor of the club to join the Donald Trump administration.
On the ice, the Panthers have welcomed Nick Bjugstad back to the lineup, but remain without Jonathan Huberdeau (until mid-February) and recently lost Reilly Smith to a concussion in their shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings before the Christmas break. Bjugstad, who has just two points in 16 games since returning to the lineup, has bounced around the lineup. He’s spent time on Dennis Malgin’s left wing on the Panthers third line, played a few games back at his natural center position, and tonight it looks like he’ll take Smith’s spot on the right wing next to Vincent Trochek.
– The Leafs have scored nine goals in their two games against Florida, taking advantage of an overhauled defence group that has been out of sorts in the first half of the season. The Panthers have been better at home (9-6-1) than they’ve been on the road, however, and are allowing 2.5 goals against at the BT&T Center versus 2.8 away from home.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
Stat | Tor | Fla |
---|---|---|
Points | 35 | 36 |
Record % | 0.53 | 0.514 |
Home Winning % | 0.588 | 0.536 |
Away Winning % | 0.469 | 0.417 |
Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0.429 |
Goal Differential Per Game | 0.21 | -0.31 |
Shot Differential Per Game | 1.42 | 1.4 |
Hits Per Game | 25.4 | 21 |
PIM Per Game | 11.1 | 8.5 |
Opponent PIM Per Game | 11.7 | 9 |
Goals Per Game | 2.94 | 2.34 |
Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.3 | 1.74 |
Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.61 | 0.51 |
Shots Per Game | 33.8 | 31.5 |
Shots Per Goal | 11.5 | 13.5 |
Team Shooting % | 0.087 | 0.074 |
Power Play % | 0.196 | 0.149 |
Goals Against Per Game | 2.73 | 2.66 |
ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.09 | 2.17 |
PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.55 | 0.46 |
Shots Against Per Game | 32.36 | 30.14 |
Shots Against Per Goal | 11.87 | 11.34 |
Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.084 | 0.088 |
Penalty Kill % | 0.836 | 0.856 |
Save % | 0.916 | 0.912 |
Goals Against Average | 2.69 | 2.59 |
Shutouts | 1 | 0 |
Opponent Save % | 0.913 | 0.926 |
Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.9 | 2.28 |
Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 2 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo
Injured: Martin Marincin, Ben Smith
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Antoine Bibeau
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
Forwards
Seth Griffith – Aleksander Barkov – Jaromir Jagr
Jonathan Marchessault – Vincent Trocheck – Nick Bjugstad
Jussi Jokinen – Denis Malgin – Colton Sceviour
Kyle Rau – Derek MacKenzie – Shawn Thornton
Defencemen
Keith Yandle – Aaron Ekblad
Mark Pysyk – Michael Matheson
Jason Demers – Jakub Kindl
Goaltenders
Starter: Roberto Luongo (Expected)
Backup: James Reimer