The Panthers take on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight in what should be an exciting game for a few reasons.
1. Florida is the hottest team in the league right now 2. The Cats are on a 12-game winning streak and are the kings of the Eastern Confrence 3. Both the Panthers and Leafs are playoff teams 4. The Comeback Cats surprised TOR in a big way the last time these two organ-I-zations clashed
The Leafs took a serious beating on Thursday at the hands of Florida’s in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning. When it was all said and done, TBL had crushed the Leafs 8-1.
So Toronto will no doubt be looking to bounce back in a big way and would like nothing more than to do it against the league’s top do—err…cats.
It will be no easy task, however. The Cats are red-hot and looking to carry this momentum into the playoffs. This is a special team and a special year. Some of the key ingredients needed for a year like this are: personnel, skill and luck. Knock on wood, these three pieces have been clicking all year.
Jonathan Huberdeau: “It’s a special year…. We’re a family. We’re close. You can see it on the ice. This is the year we have to do something with that.… #TORvsFLA pic.twitter.com/1WnBjgxD4M
— z - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) April 23, 2022
Key Items
“Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida into a matchup with Toronto. He's second in the league with 113 points, scoring 30 goals and recording 83 assists.
The Panthers are 17-2-2 against opponents from the Atlantic. Florida averages 9.5 penalty minutes per game, the eighth-most in the NHL. Radko Gudas leads the team serving 103 total minutes.
The Maple Leafs are 14-8-1 against Atlantic opponents. Toronto leads the Eastern Conference with 61 power-play goals, led by Auston Matthews with 15.…
“TOP PERFORMERS: Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 113 points, scoring 30 goals and adding 83 assists. Aleksander Barkov has seven goals and 11 assists over the last 10 games for Florida.
Matthews leads the Maple Leafs with 102 points, scoring 58 goals and adding 44 assists. Mitch Marner has eight assists over the last 10 games for Toronto.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 10-0-0, averaging five goals, 8.2 assists, 3.8 penalties and 8.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .906 save percentage.
Maple Leafs: 7-2-1, averaging 4.3 goals, 7.5 assists, 5.1 penalties and 15.4 penalty minutes while allowing 3.7 goals per game with an .881 save percentage.…
Wow. Some crazy stats going each way there… _____________________
A lot of talent on both sides tonight. The last time these two teams met it was a big comeback by the Cats (of course). Looking forward to some fun action and Florida extending that streak…
GO PANTHERS!