LGD: Hockey Dad in Toronto

Back when the Leafs were somewhat competitive and had even the faintest hopes of the playoffs this late in the season, we’d call a matchup like tonight’s – against Jaromir Jagr and the Panthers – a mid-week trap game. It’s a game you should have in the bag in your march toward trying to secure a playoff spot, but as a fan you just know it won’t play out that way.

Well, times change, and tonight the shoe is on the other foot. It’s the Leafs’ turn to try to surprise, and perhaps mess things up for Florida a little. The Panthers aren’t in any trouble playoff-wise, but they head into tonight’s game with a very tight lead at the top of the Atlantic, sitting a point up on Boston and just a pair from third-seeded Tampa. They’ll want this game as much as any other, and with the Leafs riding a mini-streak and looking strong over the last few games, it shouldn’t be easy. 

Toronto has called up Connor Brown from the Marlies on an emergency basis, as it looks like Leo is out with an injury. As Jonas Siegel from the AP notes, Brown will be the tenth Leaf this season to make his NHL debut.

As we noted earlier, Florida has one of the best records in the conference. But they’ve seen their performance called into question a fair bit over the course of the season, as they currently operate in the bottom half of the league in terms of score-adjusted Corsi percentage. There’s been plenty of debate over whether they’re a real contender.