Outside of the postseason, the games don't get much bigger than this.
With a chance to sink their claws back into a playoff spot heading down the home stretch, the Florida Panthers will attempt to overtake the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division when the two clubs meet for a momentous matchup at BB&T Center on Thursday night.
Panthers Host Maple Leafs in Important Divisional Battle
Florida (33-24-6) currently trails Toronto (33-23-8) by two points with one game in hand.
"It's a tough game for us, that first game back," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of the battle with the Maple Leafs. "We know the value of those four-point swings [and what they] lead to. Let's do everything we can to know that that's the most important game we've had to date."
Tonight's tilt marks the start of a five-game homestand for the Panthers after they wrapped up a five-game swing out West with a 2-1 win at Arizona on Tuesday. After falling behind 1-0 against the Coyotes, Frank Vatrano and Mike Hoffman each scored to help Florida finish its trip at 3-2-0.
"I wasn't too sure about our first period, but I thought we rebounded pretty good," Hoffman said.
Hoffman's game-winning tally, which was scored off a smooth set play on the man advantage at 8:50 of the third period, marked the third straight game that he's found the back of the net. Tied for first on the team in goals (25), the 30-year-old winger is also riding a five-game point streak.
"We haven't played in many games trying to protect the lead like that in a real tight situation," Quenneville said of his team's very resilient effort during the win. "It felt like a playoff-type of environment, knowing that the next goal was big. It was a tremendous play on the power play."
Coming off possibly his best performance of the season, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced against the Coyotes -- including turning aside 13 of 14 high-danger attempts -- and is expected to be between the pipes for Florida again versus the Maple Leafs.
Over his last four starts, the 31-year-old veteran has gone 3-1-0 with a .931 save percentage.
"It was a great team win," said Bobrovsky, who's posted an 11-5-0 record with a .922 save percentage and two shutouts in his career against the Maple Leafs. "I think it's the team that was the first star. They made great blocked shots, great backchecks, perfect timing. They made a hell of a backcheck at the end, the very last second. It's a great time to play hockey."
Toronto has lost three of its last five games but enters tonight's matchup on the heels of a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay. Against the Lightning, John Tavares had a pair of goals, William Nylander posted a goal and an assist and goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 26 of 29 shots in net.
Auston Matthews leads the Maple Leafs in goals (43) and points (74), while Mitch Marner paces the club in assists with 47. Tavares ranks tied for third on the team with 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists), including eight goals and seven assists for 15 points over his last 12 games played.
Andersen has started each of the last five games, so he's likely to get the nod in net once again tonight. Over that five-game stretch, the 30-year-old netminder has gone 2-3-0 with a .881 save percentage and one shutout, which came during a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh back on Feb. 20.
Banged up on the backend, the Maple Leafs are currently playing without three of their top defensemen, as Cody Ceci, Morgan Reilly and Jake Muzzin are all sidelined with injuries.
The penultimate matchup of their season series, Florida owns a 2-0-0 record against Toronto this season, previously winning 8-4 win in Sunrise on Jan. 12 and a 5-3 on the road on Feb. 3.
"At this time of the year, you can look at the standings and see how tight everything is," Bobrovsky said of the team's push toward the postseason. "Every point is huge for us." Overall, the Panthers have won six straight games against the Maple Leafs on home ice.
PANTHERS NOTES
-- Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida and ranks tied for eighth in the league with 77 points (22 goals, 55 assists). He's also tied for fourth in the league in points on the power play with 29. Over his last seven games, the 26-year-old winger has registered three goals and six assists.
-- Aleksander Barkov ranks second on the Panthers in scoring with 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists) -- his third straight season with at least 60 points. Entering tonight's matchup on a five-game point streak, the 24-year-old center has tallied three goals and three assists in that span.
-- Evgenii Dadonov ranks tied for first on Florida in goals (25) and fourth in points (46).
-- Keith Yandle ranks first among Panthers defensemen with 43 points (five goals, 38 assists), marking the seventh straight season he's hit the 40-point plateau. The NHL's active "Iron Man," the 33-year-old is expected to suit up in his 861st consecutive regular-season game tonight.
-- Noel Acciari ranks fifth on Florida with a career-high 19 goals. The 28-year-old forward also leads the team in hits (111) and ranks first among all of the league's forwards in blocks (92).
-- Aaron Ekblad ranks second among Panthers defensemen in scoring with 38 points, including a career-high 33 assists. With two more points, he will set a new career-high. Also leading the team in ice time per game (22:57), the 24-year-old has posted 17 points at home this season.
-- Since Feb. 1, defenseman Riley Stillman leads Florida in hits (28) and blocks (22).
-- New Panther Erik Haula is expected to suit up in the 400th game of his NHL career tonight.
PROJECTED LINEUP (NO MORNING SKATE)
Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Evgenii Dadonov
Frank Vatrano - Erik Haula - Mike Hoffman
Brett Connolly - Lucas Wallmark - Aleksi Saarela
Colton Sceviour - Noel Acciari - Mark Pysyk
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Riley Stillman - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Mike Matheson
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky
Sam Montembeault
Scratches:Dominic Toninato, Josh Brown, Dryden Hunt (lower-body)
Injured Reserve: Chris Driedger (lower-body), Brian Boyle (upper-body)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Feb. 26: G Chris Driedger was assigned to AHL Springfield on a conditioning loan.
- Feb. 24: D Emil Djuse was acquired from Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
- Feb. 24: F Erik Haula, F Lucas Wallmark, F Eetu Luostarinen and D Chase Priskie were acquired from Carolina in exchange for F Vincent Trocheck.
- Feb. 20: F Dryden Hunt was recalled from AHL Springfield.
- Feb. 19: F Mason Marchment was acquired from Toronto in exchange for F Denis Malgin.
- Feb. 18: F Aleksi Saarela was recalled from AHL Springfield.
IN-ARENA ACTIVATIONS
-
50/50 Raffle
- $5 Beer Thursday
- Lexus Takeover Night
-
iSpy Lexus Contest on the JetBlue Tarmac
-
Territory Memberships are On Sale Now!
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Thursday, Feb. 27, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL
TV:FSF
Stream:
FOX Sports GO
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM 91 / Streaming 932
Tickets:
HERE
