Toronto's 'Core Four' held without a goal through three games
Toronto's 'Core Four' held without a goal through three games
The Florida Panthers will look to accomplish something on Wednesday that the franchise has never done in its 29 seasons of existence.
Florida enters Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at FLA Live Arena needing a victory to pull off the team's first four-game sweep of a postseason series.
It's been an interesting first three games against Toronto.
The Panthers have done well to limit the Maple Leafs from doing the things they made them so successful this season.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been sublime, but so has the play of those directly in front of him.
Florida has played strong defense in front of its own goal, sweeping away potential rebound opportunities and limiting chances from below and between the circles.
But the Leafs are a team full of firepower, and while the Panthers have done well to water down their high-octane offense, there have been more than a few good looks for Toronto.
It's amazing that to this point, the Leafs' 'Core Four' of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander have zero goals in three games against Florida.
The Panthers have held Toronto, a team that averaged 3.39 goals per game during the regular season, to just two goals in each game of the series
That's where Bobrovsky has been the X-factor for the Cats.
His presence in goal, combined with the team's overall improved play, particularly in the physical department and specifically with its forechecking, has allowed Florida to maintain an extremely relaxed, stress-free vibe.
That is pretty amazing considering the Panthers are one win away from reaching the conference finals.
"We're preparing right, and just it's pretty simple," said Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk. "We're not overthinking it, we're not taking it too easy. We're just here to win the game. It's pretty simple."
Florida is fresh off an exhilarating overtime win on home ice in Game 3.
It was the Panthers first postseason overtime victory in their own building since the second-round of the 1996 playoffs.
The building was rocking. It was a special night for the Panthers and their fans.
Entering Wednesday, though, the team knows that any momentum they had at the end of Game 3 will be washed away by the time the puck drops on Game 4.
"The truth is, what happened last game is going to have nothing to do with what happens tomorrow, so no sense getting overly excited about that one," Maurice said after Tuesday's practice. "We're pretty even keel, but in a good mood."
ROSTER NOTES
As the Panthers keep chugging away, their roster makeup has remained the same.
The forward lines will remain the same, as will the defensive pairings.
Starting in goal will be the red-hot Bobrovsky.
On the Toronto side, there will be quite a few changes based off the team's Tuesday practice at FLA Live Arena.
Each of the Leafs' top three lines will have a different look in Game 4 than they have so far during the series.
Calle Jarnkrok was moved up to the top unit with Matthews and Marner while Michael Bunting was dropped to the third line alongside Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari. The second line centered by Tavares and flanked by the speedy Nylander now features Alex Kerfoot on the left.
Defensively, Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe moved defenseman T.J. Brodie from the right to the left, and he'll skate with Justin Holl.
Jake McCabe, who had been skating with Brodie, will now be partnered with Timothy Liljegren, who was a healthy scratch in Game 3 after skating in previous three games for Toronto.
Don't be surprised to see the Maple Leafs go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen again, as they did Sunday.
ROSTER UPDATES
There's nothing new to update.
Bobrovsky vs. Woll in goal.
Matt Murray will back up for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov is out with an upper-body injury.
Leafs will be shuffling their lines and pairings, per above, hoping to ignite a spark.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Josh Mahura on what to expect from Toronto: “They're going to come out on fire, and we know they're probably going to bring out their best effort tonight. They're going to get off to a good start and we have to make sure we're ready for that, and we're going to be able to match that. It's no different from the other three games. We're just coming to the rink, preparing the way we have the last three and just looking to play our best game.”
Paul Maurice on the flow of the series: “There's been blocks in each game that each team has controlled. When we look like we're controlling the game, our forecheck is pretty relentless and causing a lot of turnovers, and when they're in control of the game, that rush game comes in and they're three, four and sometimes five at the line, and the chaos that they cause off that rush is really hard to handle. So we're going to try to create as many events on the forecheck that we can and we're going to do everything we can to keep them out of that rush game.”
Mahura on his injury: “I think right at the time, obviously, it was so scary. I kind of didn't know what happened. Obviously, once I got off the ice our medical staff did a great job of taking care of me and getting the stitches in and was able to get back out there and go through the process of making sure I was all good. Once that all got taken care of and the third period got underway, I just wanted to get back out there with the boys and try to finish the game off.”