Leafs brace for battle in showdown with slumping Panthers

The Florida Panthers (optional) and Toronto Maple Leafs skated at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Wednesday. 

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The Panthers have lost four straight games and six of seven overall entering Wednesday's first showdown of the season against the Leafs. 

"That doesn't matter," stressed Toronto winger Steven Lorentz, who lifted the Stanley Cup with Florida last year. "I know what their mindset is over there, and that's a resilient group. They could lose 10 of 11 and come out and they'd be flying."

"They play to a certain identity night in and night out," echoed new Leafs coach Craig Berube. "And it's a battle. It's going to be a hard game. We know that. We're expecting that."

The Leafs are feeling good at the moment, having won four straight and seven of eight games since Auston Matthews exited the lineup with an upper-body injury. Matthews returned to practice on Tuesday, but will miss a ninth straight game on Wednesday. 

"He's been off a while," Berube noted. "Him and I and the organization feel like he needs a little bit more [practice time] to be ready to go."

Matthews last suited up in a game on Nov. 3. 

While the Leafs have predictably struggled to produce 5-on-5 goals without Matthews, tied for last in that department in this stretch, the team is doing a lot of things well. 

"I do like the way we're forechecking and defending," said defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, another former Panther, who signed with the Leafs in the summer. "I think we have been a lot better the last 10 games or so. You can tell that we're figuring it out. We're playing better as a team."

And the Leafs, who are seventh overall in the league standings, have responded well to top competition this season. Toronto is 4-0-1 against the teams above them in the standings. 

The Leafs lead the Panthers by three points in the race for first place in the Atlantic Division, but this game still feels like the biggest measuring-stick moment of the year.  

"They're going to be hard," Lorentz said. "They're going to be in our face. Tight-checking game, there's not going to be a lot of freewheeling. It's going to be man-on-man and you're not going to have a lot of time out there. So, that's a game we expect. That's a game we're preparing for. And, you know, we've done a good job so far this season playing that game ourselves. So, we've just got to bring that tonight."

The Leafs are allowing just 2.48 goals per game, which is second overall. Last year, Toronto allowed 3.18 goals per game, which ranked 21st. 

Florida is allowing 3.45 goals per game, which is tied for 27th overall. Last season, the Panthers allowed just 2.41 goals per game, which was tops in the league. 

"Our great success last year was that, when things were really sh--ty, we figured out some things that we kept from that and we put it into our game and it never came out," said coach Paul Maurice. "So, we've been afforded the opportunity to fix a piece of our game here and we gotta get it fixed."

The Panthers are hoping the arrival of a divisional rival will provide a spark. 

"We haven't been able to get to our forecheck as much," said winger Carter Verhaeghe. "We're playing a little too passive and [not enough] emotion on the bench too. When the emotion gets ramped up, then we're in it, then we're back to our game. Generally, when it's a low-emotion game, then we're not playing as well as we could be."

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After wearing a red, no-contact sweater at Tuesday's practice, winger Matthew Knies skated in a regular sweater on Wednesday morning as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury. He is eligible to be activated off the injured reserve for Saturday's game in Tampa. 

The Leafs have struggled to find a replacement for Knies on the top power-play unit since he got hurt last Wednesday in a game against Vegas. Fraser Minten, a rookie, started in that spot on Sunday night before being replaced by Alex Nylander. The younger Nylander brother remained with the top unit at Wednesday's skate. 

"He's definitely got the ability to score goals in that slot area and make plays," said Berube. 

Alex Nylander scored 11 goals in 23 games down the stretch with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. He potted eight goals in 14 games with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League this season prior to being called up last week. 

"He's got tremendous poise," centre John Tavares said. "He's shown in the league his ability to make plays and contribute offensively. 

The power-play promotion means Alex will get more ice time with big brother William, who is a fixture with the top unit. 

"He's got some similar characteristics to his brother, and very sure of himself and believes in himself, believes in his game and what he can do," said Tavares. "I think [he] plays off of the type of skill, type of players we got on the power play really well."

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Former Panther Anthony Stolarz will get the start for the Leafs. He's off to a great start this season, which is no surprise to the Panthers. 

"He was incredibly consistent with his game," Maurice said. "He didn't work in a lot of off nights. Our schedule wasn't as compressed last year. We would've played him far more, but our priority was rhythm for [Sergei] Bobrovsky." 

Stolarz, 30, remained a positive presence in the Panthers room even when he wasn't getting much playing time. 

"I don't think he's had a bad day in his life," said Verhaeghe. 

On Tuesday, Stolarz spoke about how much he learned from being around Bobrovsky, who will start on Wednesday for Florida.  

"It was good for him to work with Sergei and watch Sergei's program," Maurice said. "They had a wonderful relationship." 

Stolarz posted a .925 save percentage in 27 games with the Panthers last season, including a career high 24 starts. He's been even better this season with a .927 save percentage in 12 starts with the Leafs. 

"I don't think he was lucky with us," Maurice said. "I think he worked his ass off. He really understands his game. He's got a real good team in front of him, he had a real good team [last year], so it's almost his first chance to show how good he is."  

"He was playing his heart out," said Verhaeghe. "He's been awesome this year too. He definitely needed a little bit of a chance, and I guess he got that." 

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Stolarz, Lorentz and Ekman-Larsson all received their Stanley Cup rings on Wednesday morning. 

"I got no words," said Lorentz. "All the guys were in the room there from last season. We got to see everybody, coaches and staff, and the guys. It was pretty cool. It brought back a lot of good memories."

"It was a great feeling," said Ekman-Larsson. "Coming into that room and seeing all the guys, kind of going through your head what you went through last year and the battles with that group. So, a lot of emotions, but also a lot of fun."

The trio of former Panthers will be recognized in a video tribute during the game. 

The return of Stolarz, Lorentz and Ekman-Larsson brought some positive vibes into the Panthers room. 

"You'll lock eyes and there will be a little smile there, and you get that flood of memories," said Maurice. "Every once in a while you get this surprise reminder, and you get this 30-second warm bath that you slip into about how nice that was last year, how amazing that was."   

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Projected Leafs lineup for Wednesday's game: 

McMann - Tavares - Marner 

Robertson - Holmberg - W. Nylander 

Grebenkin - Minten - A. Nylander 

Steeves - Dewar - Lorentz

McCabe - Tanev 

Rielly - Ekman-Larsson 

Benoit - Timmins

Stolarz starts 

Woll