The Panthers can punch their ticket as early as tonight if they defeat the Maple Leafs in regulation or overtime and the Islanders lose to the Washington Capitals in regulation.
"The boys are in a really good mood right now," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said following a very upbeat morning skate in Sunrise. "The chemistry is off the charts. We're just rolling right now. We're playing the right way, we're playing hard, and we're playing for each other."
Keeping their winning streak alive in thrilling fashion, the Panthers enter tonight's matchup on the heels of a 4-2 win at Washington on Saturday. Deadlocked late in the third period, Matthew Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal to put Florida on top 3-2 with one minute left on the clock.
Adding an empty-net goal after Tkachuk's tally, Sam Reinhart upped his goal total to 31. Also getting in on the action up front, Aaron Ekblad extended his point streak to a career-long seven games with a power-play goal, while Carter Verhaeghe increased his team-high goal total to 41.
On fire down the homestretch, Tkachuk, who also dished out two assists against the Capitals, has produced 11 points (five goals, six assists) over his last five games. Reaching new heights during his first season with Florida, he's tallied a career-high 108 points (40 goals, 68 assists).
"I think everyone sees what he's doing, but not everyone sees what he does off-ice and how much he means to this team," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Tkachuk, who should be viewed as a potential finalist for the Hart Trophy. "He does so much for us and for our organization. He's been an unreal addition."
After stopping 22 of 24 shots in Washington, Alex Lyon will make his seventh straight start for the Panthers. Stepping up after Sergei Bobrovsky was sidelined with a non-COVID illness, the 30-year-old goaltender has gone 6-0-0 with a .956 save percentage during his current streak.
Lyon's impressive run of excellence began when he stopped 38 of 40 shots to lead the Panthers to a 3-2 overtime win in Toronto on March 29. Making 11 high-danger saves in that win, none were bigger than his robbery on reigning Hart Trophy-winner Auston Matthews in the extra frame. Not long after that highlight-reel save, Brandon Montour buried the game-winning goal for the Panthers.
Since that game, no goalie in the NHL has made more saves than Lyon's 194.
"He's a great guy, great goalie," Barkov said of Lyon. "He's really confident right now. We love playing in front of him. He gets everyone going. You know when you have that type of guy in the net that you want to play your best and play as hard as possible in front of him."
While the Panthers are still fighting to get into the playoffs, the Maple Leafs (47-21-11) have already locked up second place in the Atlantic Division. Closing out the home portion of their regular-season schedule, they cruised to a 7-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
In that beatdown, Mitch Marner racked up two goals and an assist, John Tavares lit the lamp twice, and Ryan O'Reilly dished out three assists. Additionally, Matthews, Willian Nylander and Michael Bunting found the back of the net. Between the pipes, Ilya Samsonov made 20 saves.
On the verge of his first 100-point season, Marner leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 98 points (30 goals, 68 assists). Underneath him, Matthews has 84 points (39 goals, 45 assists), Nylander has 83 points (38 goals, 45 assists) and Tavares has 78 points (34 goals, 43 assists).
Samsonov has earned the bulk of the starts for Toronto as of late. In 41 appearances this season, the 26-year-old has posted a 26-10-5 record with a .917 save percentage. In two starts against the Panthers this season, he's gone 1-0-1 while stopping 37 of 40 shots (.925%).
Over their last 10 games against the Maple Leafs in Sunrise, the Panthers have gone 8-2-0.
With only three games left in their season, it's hard to say what sort of lineup changes -- if any -- the Maple Leafs could make against the Panthers. Since they did not skate this morning, no information on their roster or a starting goalie will be known until much closer to puck drop.
Regardless, the Panthers don't expect Toronto to take tonight's game lightly.
"I think they're going to play real hard and real well," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "I don't think they're taking their foot off it right now because they're prepping for something and it's something they want to be right for. That first round gets talked a lot about in Toronto, so they want to be right and ready for that. I think they go fast and they go hard."
