TORONTO – With their adrenaline likely still pumping after a wild game in Ottawa less than 24 hours ago, the Florida Panthers will look to pick up another two points when they close out their back-to-back with a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
In the first stop on their three-game trip through Canada, the Panthers dominated the special teams battle during a 5-0 win over the Senators that featured a combined 167 penalty minutes.
“There’s not much you can do,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, who scored twice against the Senators, said after the win. “Just focused on getting Bobby (Sergei Bobrovsky) the shutout and keeping the two points in the bag and trying to get out of here and get ready for tomorrow.”
After being shut out by the Jets in the final game of their homestand, the Panthers lit the lamp just 1:28 into the first period against Ottawa when Reinhart made it 1-0 with a power-play goal.
In the second period, Reinhart struck again to double the lead to 2-0 with another goal on the man advantage. Back on the power play after Ottawa unsuccessfully challenged for offside on Reinhart’s second tally, Sam Bennett buried a backhand shot from in tight to make it 3-0.
In the third period, chaos ensued.
Following a few earlier incidents – including Senators forward Zack MacEwen receiving a match penalty after a high hit on Matthew Tkachuk – the bad blood boiled over after Matthew’s brother, Brady, interfered with Bobrovsky after being denied by the Panthers goaltender.
Once the dust settled from the ensuing line brawl, every player on the ice received a misconduct.
“Sometimes hockey can get like that,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s why the game’s so darn great. It’s graceful, beautiful, physical and angry all at the same time."
Keeping their eye on the prize, the Panthers still managed to add two more goals in the third as Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen each found the back of the net to make it 5-0. Locking in his second clean sheet of the season, Bobrovsky stopped all 20 shots he faced.
With the win, the Panthers improved to 13-7-1.
“A shutout is teamwork,” said Bobrovsky, who improved his personal record to 10-6-1. “I appreciate my teammates for the hard work they put in. I am lucky to get the shutout.”
On special teams, Florida scored three power-play goals and went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The second player to reach the 15-goal mark in 21 or fewer games, Reinhart leads the Panthers in scoring with 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists). Barkov ranks second with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists), while Tkachuk sits in third with 18 points (three goals, 15 assists).
“We just wanted to keep going the same way,” Barkov said after dishing out three assists in the win over the Senators. “I know there were a lot of penalty minutes, but we just came to play hockey and got an important win. That’s all that matters.”
Fifth in the Atlantic Division at 10-6-5, the Maple Leafs followed up a four-game winning streak with back-to-back losses, including a 3-2 defeat at Pittsburgh in their last outing on Saturday.
Leading the Penguins 2-1 on goals from Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthew Knies, the Maple Leafs surrendered two goals in the second period to fall behind 3-2 and never recovered. Between the pipes, Joseph Woll made 32 saves for Toronto, which has played four straight one-goal games.
After opening the season on a 17-game point streak, William Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists). Auston Matthew ranks second with 21 points, including 14 goals. Tied for third, John Tavares and Mitch Marner have each posted 20 points.
At the time of this writing, Toronto has yet to announce a starting goaltender.
This is the second meeting between the Panthers and Maple Leafs this season. In their first matchup on Oct. 19 in Sunrise, the Panthers secured a 3-1 win behind goals from Reinart, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Kevin Stenlund and a stellar 29-save performance from Bobrovsky.
Tonight’s game also marks the first time the Panthers have visited Scotiabank Arena since Nick Cousins scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 5 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Second Round.
PREGAME QUOTES
“He didn’t get a high-volume night, but that save on the power play through the seam was just fantastic for him. I’m happy that it ends up a shutout because he played very well in the Boston game and didn’t get the result.” – Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance in Ottawa
“It was one of those games. It’s a division rivalry. It was a good game overall. We got two points against a big opponent, a really good opponent. They’ve got a really good team – fast, skilled. It’s a big points for us.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on the intensity of Monday’s win over the Senators
FIVE CATS STATS
- Since Oct. 28, the Panthers rank fourth in the NHL with a 88.1% success rate on the PK.
- Florida is allowing the third-fewest shots on goal per game in the NHL (27.7).
- Sam Reinhart ranks second in the NHL with nine goals on the road this season.
- Matthew Tkachuk has fired the fifth-most shots on goal in the NHL this season (88).
- Ryan Lomberg has dished out a team-leading 38 hits.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 25: D Mike Reilly claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders
- Nov. 17: F Jonah Gadjovich recalled from AHL conditioning assignment
- Nov. 17: D Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour activated off injured reserve
HOW TO WATCH
When: Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Watch Party: Funky Buddha in Oakland Park
