PREVIEW: Panthers remain focused with chance to eliminate Maple Leafs

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers will look to complete their second-round sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs when the two teams clash at FLA Live Arena in Game 4 on Wednesday.

As it has been throughout the playoffs, the Panthers aren't letting the moment get too big.

"I think throughout this playoffs we've kind of taken the mentality of just taking it one game at a time regardless of if we're up or down," Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura said after this morning's skate. "We're just looking forward to coming to the rink and playing tonight."

Keeping things loose and thriving in their role as the league's underdog, the Panthers can become just the fourth team in the NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68) to sweep a best-of-7 series at any point in the postseason after entering the playoffs as the lowest seed.

But just because they're playing with house money doesn't mean they're being frivolous.

Not far removed from clawing their way back from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the 65-win Boston Bruins in Round 1, the Panthers, who have won a franchise-record six straight playoff games, know that a commanding lead in a series doesn't mean anything if you can't close it out.

They've established their identity, and they know what needs to be done.

"It doesn't matter if it's Game 1 or if it's Game 7," said Panthers superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk, who's been an absolute force throughout the playoffs while racking up a team-high 15 points (five goals, 10 assists). "We're a loose group in the sense that we're just in the moment. We're not really allowing anything else to get in the way of our thinking here."

In their first-round series against Boston, the Panthers won every game in which they scored first. Through three games against the Maple Leafs, they've come from behind to win in two of the three games, including erasing an early 1-0 deficit in a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 on Sunday.

After Antony Duclair and Carter Verhaeghe each scored in the second period to make it 2-2, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period to get the game to overtime. Just 3:02 into the extra frame, Sam Reinhart buried a wrap-around to lock in the win.

Averaging an impressive 4.17 goals per game and scoring at a 38.5% clip on the power play during their six-game winning streak, four different Panthers have registered at least a point per game in that span: Tkachuk (10), Verhaeghe (8), Aleksander Barkov (7) and Anton Lundell (7).

Getting even more goal support than he's needed, Bobrovsky, who will get the nod in net again in Game 4, has been lights out between the pipes. Surrendering just two goals in each of his first three starts against the Toronto, he's stopped 91 of 97 shots for a .938 save percentage.

"We're having fun," Mahura said. "We're having a good time. We're loving battling for each other and we're loving coming to the rink. We're enjoying being around each other. It's the best time of the year to be playing. We're trying to embrace that. We're still having fun in the room and fun on the bench. That's the most important thing. We learned it last series and we've learned it this series."

At the other end of the ice, the Maple Leafs are looking to pull off an historic comeback.

In NHL history, only four times in a best-of-7 series has a team come back from down 3-0.

The Panthers don't plan on letting them become the fifth.

While Bobrovsky has been at the center of Florida's success against the Maple Leafs, the Panthers as a whole have done a really great job defensively against Toronto's star players.

After combining for 13 goals in Round 1 against the Lightning, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Mitch Marner have yet to touch the twine in Round 2. Per NHL stats, this is the first time those four players have gone this long together without one of them scoring.

"They're going to come out firing," Mahura said of Toronto's dormant talent. "We know they're probably going to bring out their best effort tonight and get off to a good start. We've got to make sure we're ready for that and make sure we can match that. It's no different than the other three games this series. We're just coming to the rink preparing the way we have the last three."

As it has been since their winning streak began with Game 5 against Boston, the Panthers don't plan to make any changes to their lineup heading into Game 4 against the Maple Leafs.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"Routine, right? It's important, but you can't be a slave to it," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of that consistency. "You have to handle the adversity and what you would eventually call distractions and things that change in your day. A big one in the playoffs is what time the game starts. You build a bunch of different routines for what time each game starts. … You make changes where you feel you need to without being afraid of wearing the wrong tie because that's the key piece of the entire operation, right? Just not worry about that stuff too much."

For the Maple Leafs, at least one key change will be made.

After suffering an injury in the second period of Game 3, Ilya Samsonov will not be available for Game 4, according to Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. That means that Joseph Woll, who made 18 saves in relief of Samsonov, will be between Toronto's pipes tonight.

If the Panthers win, they'll advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1996.

THEY SAID IT

"You give up a goal and you'll have three guys up and down the bench say, 'We're fine. We're fine.' I don't have to say that anymore. That's more what I mean. We have a job, but the players eventually take it over." - Paul Maurice

"We have a very serious team where guys want to do well, but in a tie game late in the third, we're enjoying it on the bench, laughing, smiling, looking around at the moment that we're in. We're really, really enjoying it and having so much fun." - Matthew Tkachuk

"We know they're going to come out and give their best effort, and so are we. Regardless of what the score is, we're just coming to the rink preparing to play our best game of the series." - Josh Mahura

PLAYOFF LEADERS

Panthers

Goals: Montour (6)

Assists:Tkachuk (10)

Points: Tkachuk (15)

Maple Leafs

Goals:Matthews (5)

Assists:Marner (10)

Points:Marner (12)

PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards

Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair

Nick Cousins - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart

Colin White - Eric Staal - Zac Dalpe

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal - Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura - Radko Gudas

Goaltenders

Sergei Bobrovsky

Alex Lyon

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

- May 8: F Mackie Samoskevich agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract

- May 7: F Connor Bunnaman, F Grigori Denisenko, F Aleksi Heponiemi, F Patrick Giles, D Matt Kiersted, D John Ludvig, D Santtu Kinnunen, D Calle Sjalin and G Mack Guzda recalled from Charlotte (AHL)

- May 6:D Lucas Carlsson and G Evan Fitzpatrick recalled from Charlotte (AHL)

HOW TO WATCH

When:Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: FLA Live Arena - Sunrise, FL

TV & Streaming: ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS

Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM Channel 91 / App & Streaming Channel 932; NHL App

Tickets:Click Here

PREGAME LISTEN

Hear from Carter Verhaeghe on this week's episode of Territory Talk.