Bluelines: An offensive gongshow

The Leafs went down to Tampa Bay looking to lock up home-ice advantage and left getting embarrassed by a score of 8-1. There isn’t time to dwell on the loss cause a date with the high-flying Panthers awaits them on HNIC. If their last meeting was any indicator (a 7-6 overtime win for Flordia) then we are in for some fireworks.

For the second straight game, the Leafs are listed as the underdogs. It is no surprise given that the Panthers sit atop the Atlantic Division and the league while in the midst of a 12-game winning streak to secure the President’s Trophy. Toronto isn’t in a case of David vs Goliath, but they will have their work cut out for them if they want to secure some crucial points and prevent the Panthers from setting a franchise record.

Towards the latter stages of Thursday night’s loss, Marner was on the receiving end of a dangerous collision with @Nikita Kucherov. Marner was livid at Kucherov and looked irate for the rest of the game. Along with being reunited with @Auston Matthews, it would not be shocking it Marner took out his frustrations on the scoresheet and have a big night offensively.

The oddsmakers seem to believe that this game could be another offensive explosion. With the two highest-scoring teams squaring off and a combined 13 goals in their previous matchup, it would not be crazy to presume that this could occur again. Let’s hope that it’s the Leafs on the right side of history once the horn sounds.

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