The Florida Panthers (36-28-7) play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs (42-19-9) at FLA Live Arena on Thursday. Toronto is coming off a high-scoring 7-2 loss against the Islanders on Tuesday. Mitchell Marner and Sam Lafferty each scored once for the Maple Leafs.
Ilya Samsonov only had 22 saves on 28 shots against (.785%) in the loss. Florida fell 6-3 to the Flyers on Tuesday. Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk each scored once for the Panthers. Alex Lyon saved only 18 of 23 shots against (.782%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Maple Leafs won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-4 (OT) victory in January. William Nylander led Toronto with three points (2G 1A). Aleksander Barkov led Florida with two points (1G 1A). Samsonov saved 11 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Toronto is averaging 3.40 goals per game for the season, ninth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Panthers team that is allowing 3.38 goals a game (23rd).
Meanwhile, Florida has found the net 3.49 times a game on average, fifth in the league, and the Maple Leafs are allowing opponents to score 2.74 goals per game (8th).
Florida averages more shots (36.9) than any other team in the league, though the team’s 9.6% shooting percentage ranks 23rd. With an average of 31.7 attempts, Toronto ranks 16th.
Don’t be surprised to see a few power play opportunities for the Maple Leafs, as the Panthers have been penalized 4.65 times a game, most in the NHL, for an average of 11.75 minutes (second-highest).
The visitors are averaging 3.64 penalties (19th) and 8.24 penalty minutes a game (22nd). The Maple Leafs’ 25.73% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while the Panthers rank 13th with a conversion rate of 22.08%. When it comes to defending power plays, Toronto has the league’s 12th-ranked PK% at 81.43%, while Florida is 26th at 74.40%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 90 points this season, sixth-most in the NHL, Marner is the top skater for the Maple Leafs. He is among the league leaders with 63 assists (4th) and has added 27 goals of his own.
In the net, Samsonov (24-9-3) is Toronto’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.46 GAA and a .914% save percentage.
Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring with 96 points (4th in the league). He has 34 goals and 62 assists (5th). Sergei Bobrovsky (24-17-3) has the best goals against average for Florida at 2.98. He has a save percentage of .904%.
HOME AND AWAY
Toronto is 17-12-4 on the road this season. Florida is 21-10-4 at FLA Live Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Florida Panthers (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
