Apr 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) and center Eetu Luostarinen (27) talk during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/e37e3b88-4227-420d-8494-1657cb3674dd.jpeg] Apr 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) and center Eetu Luostarinen (27) talk during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers have officially entered the home stretch of the regular season. Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a five-game losing streak for Florida, giving the Cats a nice boost as they march toward the postseason. With only four games remaining until the playoffs arrive, the Panthers are trying to simultaneously play their best possible brand of hockey while implementing new players into the mix and still hold out other players who are trying to get healthy for the postseason. Coming off a tough road trip that produced only a single point in the standings despite Florida playing some very solid hockey, it's nice that they were able to pull some positivity out of Tuesday's tilt with Toronto. Let’s get to the takeaways: FINALLY A WIN! It wasn’t like the Panthers weren’t playing some strong hockey of late, but the bounces and breaks just weren’t going their way. Picking up a resounding win over Toronto on Tuesday was exactly what the doctor ordered. Florida continued to play their strong possession style, once again dominating shot attempts and creating substantially more offensive opportunities than they allowed. At the end of the day, while it's very positive that they are continuing to play in a way that they're pleased with, getting the two points was crucial, if nothing else, for moral. "We needed to win a game because we've played pretty well here in this stretch and haven't had much go our way," said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. "Almost through two periods we felt that it looked like those games, we're just not finishing much around the net on some chances. I thought we played a pretty smart game, I thought we were fairly true to the identity. It wasn't a particularly heavy game, but I thought we did what we needed to do." REJUVINATED GUS Sunday in Detroit was the first game Gus Forsling missed all season. Apparently, the steady, high-end blueliner made the most of his time off because he was all over the place against Toronto, in a good way. Forsling led all players with eight shots on goal and 11 shot attempts. He’s now scored twice in three games after going 15 games without a goal, but the offensive lapse is nothing that Maurice and his coaching staff is bothered by. "Because we ask him to sacrifice (the offensive) in some ways, and he's usually got the big job with Aaron (Ekblad) of the other team's best, and he puts all his energy into that," said Maurice. "That's why. He hasn't seen much power play time here, he shoots it a ton, he's got 11 (goals) so he should be out there pounding them at the top, and there may come a point where you see that, but he's been a selfless player here. In the three years that I've had him, he's just been wonderful man to enjoy." MARCHY, LUNDY AND LUOSTY Since acquiring Brad Marchand, Maurice has been trying him out on some different lines and with new players. The idea is to see where there may be chemistry as the playoffs quickly approach, much like the Cats did with last year's Trade Deadline acquisition, Vladimir Tarasenko. Lately, Marchand has found himself skating on a line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. The combination of the skilled, physical veteran and the two young Finns yielded some very strong shifts on both ends of the ice. We've seen players like Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist play well when added to the Lundell-Luostarinen duo, and this could be the next grouping to excel. "I like that," Maurice said of the line. "I like it almost from a personality point of view because Brad (Marchand) is so wired into the game, and in the bit of a lather, I think it's good for those younger players to play with that kind of energy. He talks all the time on the bench about the game, and he plays with such passion, the other guys will get caught up. I thought they were structurally really good tonight, and I still don't think they're getting any bounces around the net. In the small sample size that we've had, they've generated offense for us, but we know that eventually, those breakaways that Brad had, some plays around the net, will go for him." LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Jesper Boqvist speaks on being Bill Masterton Trophy nominee from Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/jesper-boqvist-speaks-on-being-bill-masterton-trophy-nominee-from-florida-panthers] Lundell, Forsling help Panthers get back in win column with 3-1 victory over Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/lundell-forsling-help-panthers-get-back-in-win-column-with-3-1-victory-over-toronto] Key divisional matchup unfolds in Florida between Panthers, Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/key-divisional-matchup-unfolds-in-florida-between-panthers-maple-leafs] 'We're just healing them': As Stanley Cup Playoffs near, Panthers could continue holding players out [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/were-just-healing-them-as-stanley-cup-playoffs-near-panthers-could-continue-holding-players-out] Three takeaways: Panthers making best of injuries, Puljujarvi has strong debut [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-making-best-of-injuries-puljujarvi-has-strong-debut]
