As the playoffs slip away, the Maple Leafs face a big four-point game against the Florida Panthers — pretty much a must-win if there is any hope of salvaging the season (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4)
Game Day Quotes
Scott Laughton on the need for more urgency from the team as the playoffs slip away:
We have to be urgent right from the get-go… We just need to be better. We need to have a good start. We’ve had good games against these guys because we’ve played quick, fast, and on our toes.
We will have to play behind these guys. They pressure hard and play man-on-man a lot. It will be a tough test. We are both fighting for our lives here.
Laughton on the pressure to perform as deadline trade rumours swirl:
We have a veteran group. The guys know what is going on. At this time of year, you are either adding or subtracting. We can only control what we can do out there. Try to get a couple of wins here before that time, and see where it takes us.
It is a really important time of year. We are fighting for it. We have to come out and have a really good start in this building.
Laughton on whether his experience of moving teams last season helps ease the tension around the deadline this year:
Not really, no.
You try not to think about it, but it is your life at the end of the day. It is where you live. It is where you work.
I’ve loved my time here. I’ve loved spending time with the guys here and being in the fight. I want to continue to be in it with these guys.
But we have to start some things a little bit better and put some wins together.
Craig Berube on the return of Dakota Joshua to the lineup:
I just like the size against the [Panthers], for sure. I wanted to get a little more size in there tonight. He had a good week of practice. He just has to keep it simple and get his feet moving. Those are the two most important things for me tonight. I am sure he will run into a little bit of a wall at times, but he just has to fight through that. It is his first game in a long time, but we’re excited to have him back.
Berube on the message to the team after the loss in Tampa, with the playoff picture looking more and more dire:
We need a short-term memory, a little bit. We have to learn from our mistakes and what we need to do better, but at the same time, we can’t focus on that. We have to focus on tonight’s game. These are two teams fighting for the playoffs. It is going to be a hard game. It always is against Florida. We’ll turn the page and focus on the Panthers.
Paul Maurice on “playoff time” starting early for a desperate Panthers team currently outside of the playoff picture:
You’re in that playoff mindset. Every game is the only game you’re going to play. When it is done, you can’t hang onto it, good or bad. You have to move on to the next game and make the adjustments.
You’re not running the bench tonight like it is a back-to-back. You’re not thinking, “We want to get everybody in because we’ve had a bunch of time off.” You’re just solely focused on your day and the simplicity of a game like tonight.
Maurice on his team playing its first game since the break against a Leafs team that played last night:
We have to play this game as simply as we possibly can to get the speed and rhythm of an NHL game. All of the cliches are true. The shifts have to be short. You can’t get caught out there playing a game your hands aren’t ready to play. Have close support, and be as efficient and simple as you possibly can. The whole idea is that we just have to get up to speed and be as fast as we can.
Maple Leafs (27-22-9) vs. Panthers (29-25-3): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #11 Max Domi
#63 Matias Maccelli – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#81 Dakota Joshua – #55 Nic Roy – #74 Bobby McMann
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #89 Nick Robertson
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #25 Brandon Carlo
#22 Jake McCabe – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit – #28 Troy Stecher
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Calle Jarnkrok, Easton Cowan, Philippe Myers
Injured: Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Carter Verhaeghe – #17 Evan Rodrigues – #13 Sam Reinhart
#11 Mackie Samoskevich – #9 Sam Bennett – #19 Matthew Tkachuk
#27 Eetu Luostarinen – #15 Anton Lundell – #63 Brad Marchand
#10 AJ Greer – #79 Cole Schwindt – #95 Sandis Vilmanis
Defensemen
#42 Gustav Forsling – #5 Aaron Ekblad
#77 Niko Mikkola – #26 Uvis Balinskis
#6 Donovan Sebrango – #2 Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Starter: #72 Sergei Bobrovsky
#40 Daniil Tarasov
Injured/Out: Aleksander Barkov, Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich, Seth Jones
