For every player in the locker room, the belief remains strong.
"If you lived your life waking up every morning without belief or thinking bad things were going to happen, you'd just never get to the National Hockey League," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "You'd get weeded out long before that. There's just too much adversity to get to the NHL, to stay in the NHL and be a good player. You wake up this morning and you've got a singular focus. You're coming to a hockey game in Toronto, and we've got to win this game."
Looking for payback in their second trip to Scotiabank Arena this season, the Panthers have been on the losing end in their two previous meetings with the Maple Leafs, including suffering a 6-2 loss less than a week ago at FLA Live Arena on March 23.
In that defeat, Nick Cousins cut Florida's deficit to 3-2 in the second period before Michael Bunting scored on the power play to increase Toronto's lead to 4-2 heading into the second intermission. In the third period, Alex Kerfoot and Mitch Marner scored to lock in the 6-2 final.
Reflecting on that loss, Maurice said that game was won and lost at the nets.
"We didn't care for our game too much," he said. "We felt that we got beat at both nets. We didn't do enough at their net, and didn't get our net cleaned out. That'll be a starting point."
Despite this matchup taking place in Canada, it's two players from the United States that will take center stage as Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews are both on top of their game.
Tkachuk leads the Panthers in both assists (62) and points (97), while Matthews, the league's reigning MVP, paces the Maple Leafs with 36 goals. Since 2019-20, Matthews (329 points) and Tkachuk (305 points) rank first and second in scoring among American-born players in the NHL.
In terms of lineup notes, Sam Bennett will miss his fifth straight game for the Panthers while dealing with an undisclosed injury. When asked about Bennett's status, Maurice said that he'll need to get back on the ice first before he's able to return.
A starting goaltender for the Panthers won't be known until warmups.
"Benny's a great player," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said of Bennett, the team's usual second-line pivot. "We're definitely missing him. Guys have been stepping up, and we need them to step up tonight. It's always tough when you lose one of those guys from your lineup, but guys need to step up."
With their place in the playoffs already safely locked in, the Maple Leafs currently sit second in the Atlantic Division with a record of 44-20-9. Winning four of their last six games, they've had a few days to rest up and recharge since earning a 3-2 win at Nashville in their last outing on Sunday.
Extending his point streak to 10 games with an assist against the Predators, Mitch Marner leads Toronto in scoring with 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists). William Nylander, who's found the back of the net three times against Florida in 2022-23, is second with 81 points (36 goals, 45 assists).
Also eclipsing the 70-point plateau for the Maple Leafs, Matthews ranks third in scoring with 77 points (36 goals, 41 assists), while John Tavares is fourth with 75 points (32 goals, 43 assists).
"We know their personnel and the talent they have," Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said. "We've got to get in their faces and stay on them. We've got to match their speed and just challenge them in any way."
Between the pipes, Ilya Samsonov or Matt Murray could man the crease for Toronto. In 35 appearances this season, Samsonov has posted a 24-9-3 record with a .914 save percentage, while Murray has gone 14-8-2 on top of a .905 save percentage in 25 appearances of his own.
Over their last four head-to-head matchups, the Panthers have gone 2-1-1 against the Maple Leafs.
"We're fighting for our playoff lives here," said Verhaeghe, who leads Florida with a career-high 36 goals. "We have eight games left, and we don't want our season to end in eight games. Take it shift by shift, game by game. Just do our best and leave it all out there."
