The Florida Panthers (51-24-6) will close out the 2023-24 regular season when they play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs (42-22-9) tonight at Amerant Bank Arena. Thanks to Sam Reinhart’s goal in overtime, the Cats posted a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. That win ensured that the Panthers will open the playoffs in Sunrise. Florida can still take the top spot in the Atlantic Division. To do so they would need to earn one more point than Boston, who are hosting Ottawa, tonight. Winning the division would mean a first round matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After making a late bid to close the gap in the standings on the Cats, the Maple Leafs dropped consecutive games to New Jersey and Detroit to fall out of contention for second place in the Atlantic Division. They will start the playoffs on the road against either the Panthers or Bruins.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 34 shots to post his 20th win and third shutout of the campaign. Toronto is on the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the eighth straight season, with their magic down to three. Matthews and William Nylander lead the Maple Leafs in scoring with 95 points.
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: ESPN
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LeafsForever, #TORvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Bay St. Blues
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 4 of 4 (1-1-1)
- LAST MEETING: @TOR 6, FLA 4 – (Recap) 4/1/2024
- NEXT MEETING: Playoffs or 2024-25 season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (33-16-3 .914 / 2.40 4SO) Toronto: Samsonov (20-6-7 .893 / 3.03 3SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Toronto
Tuesday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- OTTAWA (36-41-4 76P) at BOSTON (47-19-15 109P) 7 p.m.
- DETROIT (40-32-9 89P) at MONTREAL (30-36-15 75P) 7 p.m.
Idle: TBL (96P), BUF (84P)