Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour speaks after Florida's 6-4 loss to Toronto on April 1. The Panthers did not start their last road trip of the season well in Toronto on Monday. After a really sloppy start to the game, especially defensively the Panthers were down 5-1 in the second period. They did show some fight in the third however, eventually cutting the lead down to 5-4, before Auston Matthews sealed the victory for the Leafs with an empty netter with under a minute to play. Florida will need to clean up some of those defensive mistakes on Tuesday in Montreal. The Canadiens are in second last place in the Eastern Conference with 68 points, but have been playing much improved hockey as of late. The Habs have won three of their last four games and held teams to an average of under two goals a game during that stretch. That is largely due to the play in between the pipes by both Cayden Primeau and Sam Montembeault for the Canadiens. While defence was a struggle on Monday for the Panthers they were able to find their offensive firepower in the third period. They outshot the Leafs 15-8 in the last frame and scored three goals. They will need to carry that over into Tuesday’s game and will likely have to do it without forward Carter Verhaeghe as he left Monday’s game with an injury and is expected to miss some time. With the win on Monday, Toronto is now only 4 points back of Florida. Regardless of whether the Panthers finish first or second in the Atlantic division, they do not want to give up home ice advantage and drop into the third spot, so a win Tuesday is crucial. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings ahead of Tuesday’s battle with the Canadiens Vladimir Tarasenko – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Comeback effort falls short, Panthers dropped 6-4 in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/comeback-effort-falls-short-panthers-dropped-6-4-in-toronto] Original voice of Florida Panthers Jeff Rimer honored Saturday ahead of retirement [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/original-voice-of-florida-panthers-jeff-rimer-honored-saturday-ahead-of-retirement] Big week ahead for the Panthers in battle for top spot in Atlantic division [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/big-week-ahead-for-the-panthers-in-battle-for-top-spot-in-atlantic-division] Panthers begin final road trip of regular season against Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-begin-final-road-trip-of-regular-season-against-auston-matthews-maple-leafs] Spencer Knight sets new Charlotte Checkers shutout streak record [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/spencer-knight-sets-new-charlotte-checkers-shutout-streak-record]
