LGD: Hockey Night in… Florida?
By ThatsKappy
5 years agoIt’s Saturday night! You know what that means.
The Leafs are… uh, in Florida. To take on the Panthers, on Hockey Night in Canada. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but here we go I guess.
The Leafs are looking to bounce back from a frustrating loss to the Lightning on Thursday, in which they fired 49 shots on Andrei Vasilevskiy to break through only once in a 4-1 loss. Will a tilt against the lowly Panthers be just what the doctor ordered? Let’s hope so.
Leafs Lines
Last update: December 15, 2018
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 80.9#14 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.0#17 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.42#17 FL1 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 74.5#36 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 86.4#5 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 74.0#44 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.30#2 FL2 |
 PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 74.4#38 LW |  NAZEM KADRI Rating: 77.0#36 C |  WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.5#25 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 75.94#1 FL3 |
 TYLER ENNIS Rating: 70.6#109 LW |  PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 71.4#128 C |  CONNOR BROWN Rating: 69.4#111 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.44#15 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 79.8#5 LD |  RON HAINSEY Rating: 72.6#44 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.18#9 DL1 |
 JAKE GARDINER Rating: 77.7#9 LD |  NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 70.6#82 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.14#16 DL2 |
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 74.7#28 LD |  IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 72.3#50 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.51#3 DL3 |
Status quo for the Leafs tonight. Zach Hyman returns from his 2-game suspension, too, so the Leafs’ fully optimized forward lineup is back in action.
Panthers Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JONATHAN HUBERDEAU Rating: 79.3#13 LW |  ALEKSANDER BARKOV Rating: 81.4#13 C |  MIKE HOFFMAN Rating: 76.3#23 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.00#11 FL1 |
 FRANK VATRANO Rating: 72.6#90 LW |  HENRIK BORGSTROM |  EVGENII DADONOV Rating: 79.7#10 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.84#14 FL2 |
 TROY BROUWER Rating: 68.4#134 LW |  JARED MCCANN Rating: 71.4#126 C |  DENIS MALGIN Rating: 72.0#75 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.63#24 FL3 |
 MICHEAL HALEY Rating: 67.5#140 LW |  JUHO LAMMIKKO Rating: 71.5#124 C |  JAYCE HAWRYLUK | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.50#25 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 KEITH YANDLE Rating: 78.5#7 LD |  AARON EKBLAD Rating: 74.9#30 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.71#7 DL1 |
 MICHAEL MATHESON Rating: 73.0#51 LD |  MARK PYSYK Rating: 71.2#69 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.11#21 DL2 |
 ALEX PETROVIC Rating: 69.0#131 LD |  MACKENZIE WEEGAR Rating: 70.6#80 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 69.79#27 DL3 |
News flash: the Florida Panthers are bad. They’re also incredible forgettable – but, to be fair, are injured as well. Derek McKenzie, Nick Bjugstad, Jamie McGinn and Vincent Trochek are all sidelined right now.
Starting Goalies
Luongo (5-5-1, .903) versus Frederik Andersen (17-9-0, .925) is our matchup tonight. Luongo has been seemingly always injured for the Panthers, but hasn’t been good in his time playing either. Andersen, meanwhile, has struggled a little in his recent starts, but has been remarkably consistent for the majority of the season. Let’s see if he can bounce back tonight.
Notes
- The Huberdeau-Barkov-Hoffman line has been dangerous for the Panthers this season, but they’ve definitely been a top-heavy team scoring-wise.
- For the Leafs, depth has certainly been their strength. If William Nylander can really get going offensively, we’re going to begin seeing that on a whole different level, too, which is hilarious.
Puck Drop is at 7pm ET on CBC.
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