Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers Preview, Prediction, Picks & Odds - 4/23/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL

Where to watch: BSFL, SNP, SNW, SNO, CBC

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Maple Leafs: 51-21-6

Panthers: 56-15-6

We’re still not sure what the status will be of Auston Matthews heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Florida Panthers but I can tell you that when he does return, maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs might actually get past the first round.

We might be pulling the cart before the horse right now but at least know that when the Leafs and Panthers meet in what could be an exciting second-round matchup should things bounce the way and that would require Toronto to actually win a playoff series.

Do you see how long it’s been since Toronto won a playoff series? I probably wasn’t even alive the last time they won a playoff series. Okay, I’m done now. Maybe I’ll finish before Toronto actually wins a playoff series.

I could joke the same about the Panthers but for the sake of transparency, the Panthers are a much younger franchise than the Leafs and will get all the excuses because they haven’t been a consistent contending failure like in years past. The Panthers will have eyes on them going into the playoffs with their stacked roster and the fact they continue to win a ton of games.

Florida won its 12th straight game on Thursday in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. And while the Panthers continue to make that happen, Jonathan Huberdeau keeps pace in the Art Ross race with two more assists to tie himself with Connor McDavid for the top point scorer in the NHL.

Also more importantly, the Panthers now are atop the NHL in points over the Colorado Avalanche with a few games to go. One way to break the Presidents Trophy curse is to be a team that’s never come close to winning one before and instill that faith in them.

"It means a lot," Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "We put a lot of hard work into the season and locking up the division is a big accomplishment for us. But there's obviously the bigger picture here and we'll enjoy that, locking up division and getting the home-ice advantage for the playoffs here. But other than that, we're just trying to build our game and have fun while we're doing it."

Thic could’ve been a matchup for all the milestones to happen, but it looks like all but one milestone would be achieved on this night if Auston Matthews is not a go for the fourth straight game as he looks for No. 60 in goals.

Toronto could use Matthews after his team got ran off the ice in Tampa on Thursday, losing to the two-time Stanley Cup champion Lightning 8-1 in a rare dud for Toronto (even though they lost to Buffalo five games prior.

Ilya Mikheyev scored the lone goal and Erik Kallgren stayed out there the entire dang night and got lit up like a Florida Christmass tree. They also watched Steven Stamkos make history on this night and it clearly showed that took most of the energy out of Toronto’s collective mantra.

"To me it was clear that the game meant more to them tonight than it did to us, and it showed in how they played and how they competed," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That's what happens when that's the case. You get a little sample of how hard you need to play and how well you need to play to be able to beat a team of that quality when they're playing at that level."

How hard do you want them to play during an 8-1 game? I’d legit like to know the answerto this 

question.

I’m not going to hold my breath if Matthews isn’t playing. If you’re Toronto, there’s no point in rushing him out there even though 60 goals is a major accomplishment for him. I’d be content going into the playoffs with a healthy roster and hope you see Florida down the road. Especially if you finally win a playoff series. Panthers win 5-2

Check back later for the trends.

Maple Leafs:

Ilya Mikheyev -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner

William Nylander -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Pierre Engvall

Michael Bunting -- David Kampf -- Colin Blackwell

Nicholas Abruzzese -- Jason Spezza -- Wayne Simmonds

Morgan Rielly -- Ilya Lyubushkin

TJ Brodie -- Justin Holl

Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren

Jack Campbell

Panthers:

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart

Anthony Duclair -- Sam Bennett -- Claude Giroux

Mason Marchment -- Anton Lundell -- Patric Hornqvist

Joe Thornton -- Eetu Luostarinen -- Noel Acciari

Ben Chiarot -- MacKenzie Weegar

Gustav Forsling -- Brandon Montour

Lucas Carlsson -- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky

Points: Auston Matthews -- 102

Goals: Auston Matthews -- 58

Assists: Mitchell Marner -- 61

Goalie: Jack Campbell -- 30-9-5, 2.69 GAA, .913 SV%

Points: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 113

Goals: Sasha Barkov -- 38

Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 83

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky -- 38-6-3, 2.64 GAA, .913 SV%