For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs passed a critical test in their pursuit of an Eastern Conference playoff spot with wins in both games of a two-game road trip through the state of Florida, but now must find a level of consistency over the final five weeks of the regular season to lock up a postseason berth. The Leafs return home to take on the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, leading the Florida Panthers by four points in the race for third place in the Atlantic Division and tied with Columbus for the second wildcard spot. Toronto will head to California for games against the Sharks, Kings and Ducks next week, while the Panthers have four straight at home, including back-to-back afternoon games against Chicago and Calgary this weekend. Head coach Sheldon Keefe opted to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Thursday, but that experiment did not work out as planned with Martin Marincin and rookie Timothy Liljegren on the ice for two of the Panthers three first-period goals. The Leafs went with the more traditional 12 forwards and six blueliners at the morning skate on Saturday. The Leafs top two lines (Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner, Alex Kerfoot-John Tavares-William Nylander) remained intact, with a third line of Kyle Clifford, Jason Spezza and Kasperi Kapanen, and Denis Malgin skating on a fourth line unit with Frederik Gauthier and Pierre Engvall. On defense, Travis Dermott was paired with Justin Holl, rookie Rasmus Sandin with Tyson Barrie, and Marincin with Calle Rosen. Liljegren skated with veteran Cody Ceci, who has been on the ice only a few times since suffering an ankle injury in New York on February 5th. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that Ceci will travel to California next week and practice with the club, which may indicate that he may be able to return by mid-March. Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin will also accompany the team to the Golden State, but the target date for their return still appears to be late March. Vancouver is in a tight battle with Vegas, Edmonton and Calgary in the Pacific Division, and will be without winger Brock Boeser and starting goalie Jacob Markstrom. Frederik Andersen (27-13-6, 2.98 GAA, .906 save percentage) will make his seventh straight start for the Leafs, while Thatcher Demko (11-7-0, 3.08 GAA, .908 save percentage) will likely get the start for Vancouver. *******
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— The Leafs Convo (@TheLeafsConvo) February 25, 2020