The Florida Panthers are back in action on Sunday night for Game 4 of their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena. Toronto holds a 2-1 series lead; however, Florida has made things interesting with their thrilling 5-4 overtime win in Game 3 on Friday night.
The Panthers (98 points) and Maple Leafs (108 points) finished among the best in the Eastern Conference during the regular season as the first and third seeds in the Atlantic Division. Florida took Toronto down in five games during their second-round matchup back in 2023.
Nobody is listed with an injury for the Panthers; however, it's been speculated that some are playing through ailments. That does come to be expected during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mackie Samoskevich, Jesper Boqvist, and Nico Sturm are all possibilities to re-enter the lineup, though Paul Maurice's newly configured fourth line did well for him in Game 3.
Florida Panthers projected lines
Forwards:
Line 1. LW Evan Rodrigues - C Aleksander Barkov - RW Sam Reinhart
Line 2. LW Carter Verhaeghe - C Sam Bennett - RW Matthew Tkachuk
Line 3. LW Eetu Luostarinen - C Anton Lundell - RW Brad Marchand
Line 4. LW A.J. Greer - C Tomas Nosek - RW Jonah Gadjovich
Defense:
Pair 1. LD Gustav Forsling - RD Aaron Ekblad
Pair 2. LD Niko Mikkola - RD Seth Jones
Pair 1. LD Nate Schmidt - RD Dmitry Kulikov
Goalies:
Starter - Sergei Bobrovsky
Backup - Vitek Vanecek
Power Play:
First Unit - Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Seth Jones
Second Unit - Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Aaron Ekblad
Penalty Kill:
First Unit - Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad
Second Unit - Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, Seth Jones
Odds for Panthers vs. Maple Leafs and Florida's upcoming schedule
Florida opens as a big home favorite to tie up the series at home against Toronto on Sunday night.
On Odds Shark, the Cats are -185 home favorites, while the Leafs are +164 road underdogs. Should these lines remain until the puck drops, a $185 wager on Florida would net only $100, while a $100 bet on Toronto could win $164.
This series will shift back to Toronto for Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night. Should the Panthers force a Game 6, the teams will head back to Florida for a Friday night showdown at Amerant Bank Arena. A potential Game 7 would then come in Toronto on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama