Leafs aim to spoil Panthers party on banner raising night

The Florida Panthers held an optional skate on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The Maple Leafs held a media availability in the afternoon ahead of tonight’s game. 

The Leafs will face the Panthers for the first time since Florida eliminated them in the playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 12. 

"They probably don't like us very much over there," said Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe. "We ended their season last year. I think it's going to be a battle tonight."

"It changes things when you play a team in the playoffs," agreed Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. "You just get familiar and things happen over the course of a series that you tend to remember and spend time thinking about in the off-season."

What does Rielly remember most about the series? 

"Well, outcome is obviously the first thing that jumps out," the longest-serving Leaf said. "They play hard. They're physical. They played well that series and going to the Stanley Cup final, they earned that."

Every playoff series leaves behind some lasting memories, but even more so when it's the Leafs. 

"There's no way to play a series with Toronto and not have it be an event," said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. "There's just so much coverage and so much scrutiny put on everything so there will be an extra energy in this for us."

Florida has won seven of its last eight home openers, including the last four. 

"It feels like we didn't play them that long ago," said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. "It's nice to play at home and [have the] home opener against the Leafs too. It's a great atmosphere." 

---

The Panthers, who started the season with three road games, will formally unveil their Eastern Conference championship banner on Thursday night. 

"When you finish with the excitement of the last two months there's this connection that happens between fans and players," said Maurice. "It's like you become friends and you haven't seen them for a couple months so you get back to see them again. It will be fun."

It's also a chance to reflect on the magical run, which included a shocking seven-game upset of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in the first round and a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.  

What does Maurice remember most from the Leafs series? 

"Walking in after Game 3 and watching Sam Bennett trying to take his shoulder pads off and he really couldn't," the coach recalled. "The story at that point was Toronto had figured out a way to shut the Bennett line down and we were just happy he was in the lineup ... I remember the small things and starting to watch these guys and what they were willing to go through."

Did the run teach the Panthers what it takes to win? 

"I would agree that may be the most important takeaway," said Maurice. "Everybody understanding now the physical pain and commitment in the playoffs that's demanded."

The Panthers had to grind just to make the playoffs. They barely snuck in as the final seed. 

"We know what it takes and we know what it took out of us," said Verhaeghe. "It took so much out of us and it was so hard to get to the position we were in ... We developed such a bond with the guys. We all went through it together. We were losing games we shouldn't be. We had a lot of adversity. And that's kind of our mindset, we know how hard it is to get there and it’s going to be really difficult to get to that same position again."

The Panthers are already dealing with adversity this season with Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour all sidelined due to injury. 

---

After Nick Cousins scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 5 in Toronto, defenceman Radko Gudas screamed in the face of Leafs goalie Joseph Woll. 

"We just thought it was kind of funny," said Maurice. "He's just such an emotional guy. It was just his barbaric yelp. People in Toronto probably didn't appreciate it the way we did."

It's a memorable poster-worthy image for both teams.  

"One has dart marks in it," Maurice quipped. 

Barkov assures that Gudas meant no ill will. 

"He wants to win so bad and winning in overtime and going to Eastern Conference finals that's the emotions," the centre said. 

Last season, Barkov and Gudas would high five before leaving the ice after wins. Gudas signed with Anaheim in the summer, but after Monday's win Barkov still did the high five even though there was no one on the receiving end. 

What did Gudas think of the gesture? 

"He says he loves me," the Finn revealed with a smile. 

But don't expect to see it again. 

"One game was enough. Yeah, we maybe find someone else to do that with."

Any candidates? 

"Good question," Barkov said. 

Perhaps Dmitry Kulikov who now wears Gudas' old No. 7? 

"But he is the first guy in the locker room after the game," Barkov pointed out. "We need a guy who will stay there until the end."  

---

After missing practice on Wednesday for maintenance, top-line winger Tyler Bertuzzi will take warmup and is planning to play, per coach Sheldon Keefe. Just like the Leafs, he was eliminated by the Panthers in the playoffs. The ex-Bruin did, however, produce 10 points in the seven-game series against Florida.

Defenceman Simon Benoit is the extra player on the trip.  

---

Auston Matthews has six goals through three games this season. How do you shut him down? 

"I don't think we ever talk about being able to, because the numbers suggest nobody can," said Maurice. "Over a period of time he's going to get his. He's going to drive that play and then we have players on our team that need to get theirs. You match it as much as you can. You do your best to shut it down, but it can't be your sole focus because we have players here we need to get on the offence and do the same thing." 

Matthews was held without a goal in the five-game series against Florida despite firing 26 shots on net. 

Florida's first win of the season on Monday in New Jersey provided a good blueprint for what is necessary against the Leafs, who have scored 13 goals in three games. 

"Similar to Toronto in that the top six and even into that top nine, [they] can beat you on a play," Maurice said. "They have players that alone that can beat you. I really liked our structure in that game. We were fast and we defended very well and offence came when it came so that's what we're looking for." 

---

Both teams have a new power-play quarterback this season. John Klingberg is at the top of Toronto's top unit while Oliver Ekman-Larsson fills that role for Florida. 

"His great skill is his ability to get that [puck] to the net," said Maurice, who saw the ex-Coyote quite a bit when he coached in Winnipeg. "We would show video after video of him when he was in Arizona and [say] 'We got to get in this shot lane. We got to block this shot, because it's not always heavy.' Yet we still couldn't do it and there's a reason. His great ability is to find that little bit of deception. It won't go to the net if it shouldn't. He doesn't get an awful lot blocked."

Klingberg is more of a shot threat than Rielly, who filled the role for the Leafs much of the last two seasons. 

"The threat from the top has kind of disappeared over the years," said Maurice. "When [Alex] Ovechkin, [Steven] Stamkos and some of these guys came in, and for us in Winnipeg it was Patty Laine, it became so dynamic on the flanks with the heater. So, the guy at the top stopped shooting the puck even when we had a player like Dustin Byfuglien, who wouldn't shoot the puck very much anymore because the shooters were on the flanks. Being able to put a player in there who is a threat up top can be really valuable. We have good shooters on the flanks, but it's another element you have to protect." 

---

Neither team is planning a lineup change on Thursday. 

Sergei Bobrovsky will start for the Panthers. He had a .943 save percentage in the five-game series against Toronto last spring. 

---

Leafs projected lineup for Thursday's game: 

Bertuzzi - Matthews - Marner 

Knies - Tavares - Nylander 

Domi - Minten - Jarnkrok 

Gregor - Kampf - Reaves 

Rielly - Brodie 

McCabe - Liljegren 

Giordano - Klingberg 

Samsonov starts 

Woll

Panthers projected lineup for Thursday's game: 

Rodrigues - Barkov - Reinhart 

Verhaeghe - Luostarinen - Tkachuk 

Cousins - Lundell - Sourdif 

Lomberg - Stenlund - Lorentz 

Forsling - Ekman-Larsson 

Mikkola - Kulikov 

Mahura - Balinskis

Bobrovsky starts 

Stolarz