Maple Leafs have gone just 1-4 at Scotiabank Arena while Florida is riding a five-game road winning streak
For the second time this week, the Florida Panthers will look to put the finishing touches on their second-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Florida claimed victory in each of the first three games, including Game 1 and 2 in Toronto, but it was the Leafs who saved their best effort of the playoffs for Wednesday’s Game 4.
Afterwards, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice continued to come across as a coach who was feeling as relaxed as one could during the second round of the playoffs, with full confidence in his club’s abilities.
“We lost a game today, that happens in the playoffs…I think to everybody so far,” Maurice said. “We're good, we're okay, and we get to play the next one. I think we're all good with that.”
The Panthers have flourished in Maurice’s hard-working, physically demanding system.
They are taking his word as gospel and finding that the more they grow under his guidance, the better the team seems to play.
“He literally knows every situation, how to handle it, so he is the guy we trust, he is the guy we believe in and love playing for,” said Panthers captain Sasha Barkov.
There has been a lot of discussion about how relaxed Florida’s players, and Maurice, have been during the postseason.
They’ve spoken about it openly, how there hasn’t been any pressure on the underdog Panthers who weren’t expected to get past the opening round.
But as Maurice said on Thursday before the team left for Toronto, don’t think just because the team has a laid-back demeanor with the media that they’re not hyper focused and putting in every single shred of work, whether it be off the ice in meetings or the weight room, or on the ice during games or practices.
“We judge ourselves by how hard we are to play against, and by how hard we play,” Maurice said. “And that's a very serious matter. So if it's not there, it's not all giggles…but you’ve got to be able to enjoy it.”
LINEUP NOTES
Despite the loss, don’t expect the Panthers to change much with their forward lines.
At least not to start.
The Panthers only mustered 25 shots on goal during Game 4, but had 21 attempts blocked by the Leafs and missed the net with another 11.
Zone time and puck possession wasn’t a big issue for Florida, but getting pucks on net was.
“They blocked a lot of shots, they played really good defensively, but yeah, we can be better offensively, we can keep the puck more in the zone and just work a little harder,” said Barkov.
Considering how long the Panthers’ current roster makeup has been working well for Maurice, it will be interesting to see how long he keeps the status quo if the Cats struggle to generate opportunities in Game 5.
In terms of roster depth, defenseman Lucas Carlsson and goalie Mack Guzda will join the team on the trip to Toronto.
For Toronto, considering Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said their Game 4 effort was the team’s best of the season, it’s reasonable to expect the same lineup on Friday.
That would mean 11 forwards, seven defenseman and rookie Joseph Woll in goal.
LINEUP UPDATES
There’s nothing to update.
Both teams are expected to roll with the same lineups, lines and pairings that we saw in Game 4 on Sunday.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Nick Cousins on what to expect from Toronto: “They were really desperate last game and I think they’re probably going to bring the same effort on home ice.”
Maurice on making things more difficult for Joseph Woll: “The young man came in (Game 4) in a very intense situation and looked calm in the net. We felt we helped that happen. We were a perimeter…we were almost five minutes off our offensive zone time from the game prior. That's something that we feel we can remedy.”
Brandon Montour on how to bounce back from Game 4: “Bring a little bit more energy. I thought we were a little loose (during Game 4). Obviously they're a desperate team, but we’ve got to be just as desperate.”