Nov 27, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) face-off during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b0abbba1-86fe-40a7-afd8-98e4d1d2e350.webp] Nov 27, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) face-off during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) A tough road trip will continue on Thursday for the Florida Panthers as they travel north of the border. The Panthers will play their next two games in Canada, beginning with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both the Cats and the Leafs have been battling for the top spot in the Atlantic Division for much of the season. Currently, it’s Florida holding a two-point edge over Toronto in the standings, though the Maple Leafs do hold a game in hand. The Panthers arrive in Toronto fresh off Tuesday’s frustrating 3-2 loss in Boston in which Florida surrendered a 2-0 third period lead. It was the first loss for the Cats’ in seven games, as Florida has been rolling lately, to the tune of an 11-3-0 stretch since late January. The Maple Leafs had also been getting some solid results until a recent stretch against some Western Conference opponents provided a bit of a speed bump. After reeling off wins in eight of nine games, Toronto dropped three in a row to San Jose, Vegas and Colorado before wrapping up their road trip with a shootout win in Utah. The Panthers are still adjusting to life without Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad, both of whom will be out until least the postseason. Newly acquired Brad Marchand is also not expected to return from an injury until the latter stages of the regular season. Florida has shown they are quite able to find success without key players and will likely continue to do so, though they’ll face some tough challengers along the way. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s matchup with the Maple Leafs: Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Tomas Nosek Gus Forsling – Seth Jones Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis Scratches: Jonah Gadjovich, Brad Marchand LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Florida Panthers drop off Stanley Cup Ring at Hockey Hall of Fame [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-panthers-drop-off-stanley-cup-ring-at-hockey-hall-of-fame] WATCH: Footage of Brad Marchand skating with Florida Panthers in Boston [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/watch-footage-of-brad-marchand-skating-with-florida-panthers-in-boston] Three takeaways: Panthers burn themselves in Boston collapse [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-burn-themselves-in-boston-collapse] Panthers blow 2-goal third period lead, lose in Boston 3-2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-blow-2-goal-third-period-lead-lose-in-boston-3-2] Brad Marchand joins Panthers for morning skate in Boston, skates on Florida's top line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/brad-marchand-joins-panthers-for-morning-skate-in-boston-skates-on-floridas-top-line]
