
Things have not gone easy for either the Florida Panthers or Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Soon, it will be over.
For the Panthers, they will have an offseason of recharging and recovery. With at least 12 players out tonight, Florida will have a much different lineup when the next season begins than they do right now.
Florida plans on contending again when the new league calendar flips.
The Maple Leafs are looking for a new GM and perhaps a new coach.
The two teams are looking at very different summers — and could really use a loss tonight to help keep important first-round draft picks. If Toronto’s pick is outside of the top-5, it goes to the Bruins; Florida’s pick needs to be inside the top-10 or it goes to the Blackhawks.
”Nothing is permanent in this league,’’ Paul Maurice said today. “You can win the Stanley Cup and miss the playoffs by a hundred miles. We’re going prove that this year. But we’re going to try and win it next year.’’
Wilmer Skoog will get into the lineup tonight and become the seventh player to make their NHL debut with the Panthers this season after being recalled from Charlotte.
Maurice would not say who was coming out of the lineup, but it is both Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.
So, with those two out, the only players who were on the Opening Night roster are Mackie Samoskevich, Eetu Luostarinen, A.J. Greer, Jesper Boqvist, Luke Kunin, Gus Forsling, Daniil tarasov, and Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Panthers have about $85 million out of the lineup when you count Bobrovsky who is not playing.
NOTES: PANTHERS at MAPLE LEAFS
- How much money is out of the Panthers lineup right now? More than any of us have, that’s for sure.
- If you have Comcast Xfinity cable, you will not have access to today’s game unless things change. Last Tuesday, the media giant knocked off all Scripps-owned stations nationwide — including in the middle of Florida’s 6-3 win against the Senators last week.
- Starting Goalies: The Panthers will have Daniil Tarasov back in net. Joseph Woll goes for the Leafs.
- How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are on local TV today. It can be streamed locally on Panthers+ and nationally on ESPN+.
- NHL Betting Odds: The Leafs are slight favorites today at -130 on the money line with the local book seemingly not knowing which way to go here and just giving the edge to the home team. If you think the Panthers will win, a $100 bet pays $110.
ON DECK: GAME No. 80
FLORIDA PANTHERS at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
- When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
- Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
- Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Local Betting Odds — Leafs Favored: MoneyLine (-110); Puck Line -1.5 (+175); O/U 6.5 (-115/-105)
- Season Series (Leafs Lead 2-1) — At Florida: Leafs 4, Panthers 1 (Dec. 2); Panthers 5, Leafs 1 (Feb. 28). At Toronto: Leafs 4, Panthers 1 (Jan. 6); Saturday
- Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 3-1
- All-time Regular Season Series: Toronto leads 53-41-7, 7 ties
- Last Postseason: Florida d. Toronto 4-3
- All-time Postseason (Panthers Lead 2-0): Panthers d. Toronto 4-1 (2023 ECS); Panthers d. Toronto 4-3 (2025 ECS)
- Up Next: Monday vs. New York Rangers, 7 (Fan Appreciation Night)
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (37-38-4, 78) LINES
11 Mackie Samoskevich // 27 Eetu Luostarinen // 10 A.J. Greer
32 Wilmer Skoog // 79 Cole Schwindt // 70 Jesper Boqvist
25 Nolan Foote // 92 Tomas Nosek // 18 Noah Gregor
29 Cole Reinhardt // 71 Luke Kunin // 24 Vinnie Hinostroza
42 Gus Forsling // 20 Mike Benning
6 Donovan Sebrango // 54 Ludvig Jansson
22 Toby Bjornfot // 4 Marek Alscher
40 Daniil Tarasov
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe
Injured: Seth Jones (foot), Dmitry Kulikov (finger), Aaron Ekblad (hand), Evan Rodrigues (finger), Sam Reinhart (foot), Niko Mikkola (knee), Anton Lundell (ribs), Uvis Balinskis (fractured foot), Brad Marchand (lower body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
PROJECTED TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (32-33-14, 78) LINES
63 Matias Maccelli // 91 John Tavares // 88 William Nylander
53 Easton Cowan // 11 Max Domi // 23 Matthew Knies
18 Steven Lorentz // 43 Luke Haymes // 89 Nicholas Robertson
61 Michael Pezzetta // 26 Jacob Quillan // 19 Calle Jarnkrok
44 Morgan Rielly // 95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
22 Jake McCabe // 28 Troy Stecher
2 Simon Benoit // 76 William Villeneuve
60 Joseph Woll
70 Artur Akhtyamov
Scratched: Ryan Tverberg, Philippe Myers
Injured: Auston Matthews (MCL), Dakota Joshua (upper body), Chris Tanev (groin), Brandon Carlo (lower body), Anthony Stolarz (lower body)