Regardless of the cliché you want to use to depict it, tonight’s a game the Leafs just need to have.
Down 0-2 in their best-of-7, Toronto will look to cut their series deficit in half when they visit the Florida Panthers at F-L-A Live Arena for Game 3.
Back on Tuesday night, the Cats drew first blood with a 4-2 victory. Then, on Thursday night, they double dipped with a come-from-behind 3-2 win on the back of another superb performance from Sergei Bobrovsky. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has turned aside 69 shots (nice!) of 73 so far through two outings. He’s been outstanding.
Despite the fact that they’re just two losses from their season coming to abrupt end, believe it or not, there’s actually a few factors still working in Toronto’s favour. For starters, they don’t have to look too far to find a team that they can directly relate to. In Round 1, the Devils lost both Game 1 and Game 2 on home ice against the Rangers before storming back to take that series in seven games.
Additionally, Toronto’s home/road splits could work to their benefit in this predicament, too. Through eight postseason games, they’re 1-4 at Scotiabank Arena and a perfect 3-0 on the road. Of course, all three were decided in OT at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Any way you slice it, it’s put up or shut up time for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let’s get it! Zach Aston-Reese will draw in for the injured Matthew Knies.
&nbsp;
TIME: 7 ET (CBC, Sportsnet)
&nbsp;
STARTING GOALIES:
TOR Ilya Samsonov &#8211; CONFIRMED (4-4, 3.27, 0.895)
@
FLA Sergei Bobrovsky &#8211; CONFIRMED (5-1, 3.33, 0.908)
&nbsp;
PROJECTED LINEUPS:
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Jarnkrok-Tavares-Marner
Kerfoot-O’Reilly-Acciari
Aston-Reese-Kampf-Lafferty
&nbsp;
McCabe-Brodie
Rielly-Schenn
Giordano-Liljegren
&nbsp;
Verhaeghe-Barkov-Duclair
Cousins-Bennett-Tkachuk
Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart
White-Staal-Dalpe
&nbsp;
Forsling-Ekblad
Staal-Montour
Mahura-Gudas
&nbsp;
3 KEYS TO VICTORY: 
PUCK MANAGEMENT
Until they find a way to break through in this department, I will continue to hammer it home as a monumental key to victory. While there’s no question the Leafs have been the better of the two teams early on the series, their poor puck management has cost them dearly. Furthermore, the Panthers have been very opportunistic in capitalizing on Toronto’s mistakes and making them pay greatly. It goes without saying but if the Leafs can’t find a way to limit their turnovers and giveaways, it could be curtains for Sheldon Keefe and company in short order.
PUT EVERYTHING ON NET
Obviously, Sergei Bobrovsky is very dialled in right now. That said, year in and year out, the Leafs possess one of the league’s top offences for a reason. On top of that, they’re coming off a series victory against Andrei Vasilevskiy, which should give them confidence in the long run. Personally, I would love to see them get in the dirty areas a bit more in front of Bobrovsky and make life difficult for the guy. And I’m not talking about running him or anything. All you can do when someone’s hot like this is believe in yourself and keep mounting the pressure/attack. At some point, the dam will burst. I’m confident in saying that; this team’s too talented.
SAMMY TIME
I wasn’t crazy about Ilya Samsonov’s, “I don’t give a f**k” quote after he was asked about his counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance following Game 2. I mean, he should give a puck —but I do comprehend why he answered like that. At any rate, there’s no question the Leafs need their No. 1 netminder to be a positive factor moving forward. Even though it’s important to acknowledge that numbers aren’t everything, Samsonov has been nowhere close to Bobrovsky so far in the series. At the very least, he can’t be surrendering the softies (like the Barkov one), something unfortunately this franchise/fan base has been prone to witnessing over the years of dismay. I would love a signature Ilya Samsonov performance tonight.
&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.betano.ca/">BETANO</a> BETTING PLAY:
OVER 6.5 GOALS
<a href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=">Discover Betano.ca</a> &#8211; a premium Sports Betting and Online Casino experience. Offering numerous unique and dynamic betting options along with diverse digital and live casino games, Betano is where The Game Starts Now. 19+. Please play responsibly.
 
MITCH’S DISHES:
<a href="https://www.skipthedishes.com/search/Mitch%27s%20Dishes?utm_source=Game">Order Mitch&#8217;s Dishes now</a>, exclusively on Skip the Dishes! Use promo code TLN15 to get $15 off when you spend $30 or more on Skip the Dishes. If Mitch likes it, it&#8217;s gotta be great! A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Marner Assist Fund to combat food insecurity. Skip is serving up game time eats to the GTA and Ontario with Mitch&#8217;s Dishes, ready for you to enjoy during tonight&#8217;s Leafs game!

Regardless of the cliché you want to use to depict it, tonight’s a game the Leafs just need to have.

Down 0-2 in their best-of-7, Toronto will look to cut their series deficit in half when they visit the Florida Panthers at F-L-A Live Arena for Game 3.

Back on Tuesday night, the Cats drew first blood with a 4-2 victory. Then, on Thursday night, they double dipped with a come-from-behind 3-2 win on the back of another superb performance from Sergei Bobrovsky. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has turned aside 69 shots (nice!) of 73 so far through two outings. He’s been outstanding.

Despite the fact that they’re just two losses from their season coming to abrupt end, believe it or not, there’s actually a few factors still working in Toronto’s favour. For starters, they don’t have to look too far to find a team that they can directly relate to. In Round 1, the Devils lost both Game 1 and Game 2 on home ice against the Rangers before storming back to take that series in seven games.

Additionally, Toronto’s home/road splits could work to their benefit in this predicament, too. Through eight postseason games, they’re 1-4 at Scotiabank Arena and a perfect 3-0 on the road. Of course, all three were decided in OT at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Any way you slice it, it’s put up or shut up time for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let’s get it! Zach Aston-Reese will draw in for the injured Matthew Knies.

&nbsp;

TIME: 7 ET (CBC, Sportsnet)

&nbsp;

STARTING GOALIES:

TOR Ilya Samsonov - CONFIRMED (4-4, 3.27, 0.895)

@

FLA Sergei Bobrovsky - CONFIRMED (5-1, 3.33, 0.908)

&nbsp;

PROJECTED LINEUPS:

Bunting-Matthews-Nylander

Jarnkrok-Tavares-Marner

Kerfoot-O’Reilly-Acciari

Aston-Reese-Kampf-Lafferty

&nbsp;

McCabe-Brodie

Rielly-Schenn

Giordano-Liljegren

&nbsp;

Verhaeghe-Barkov-Duclair

Cousins-Bennett-Tkachuk

Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart

White-Staal-Dalpe

&nbsp;

Forsling-Ekblad

Staal-Montour

Mahura-Gudas

&nbsp;

3 KEYS TO VICTORY: 

PUCK MANAGEMENT

Until they find a way to break through in this department, I will continue to hammer it home as a monumental key to victory. While there’s no question the Leafs have been the better of the two teams early on the series, their poor puck management has cost them dearly. Furthermore, the Panthers have been very opportunistic in capitalizing on Toronto’s mistakes and making them pay greatly. It goes without saying but if the Leafs can’t find a way to limit their turnovers and giveaways, it could be curtains for Sheldon Keefe and company in short order.

PUT EVERYTHING ON NET

Obviously, Sergei Bobrovsky is very dialled in right now. That said, year in and year out, the Leafs possess one of the league’s top offences for a reason. On top of that, they’re coming off a series victory against Andrei Vasilevskiy, which should give them confidence in the long run. Personally, I would love to see them get in the dirty areas a bit more in front of Bobrovsky and make life difficult for the guy. And I’m not talking about running him or anything. All you can do when someone’s hot like this is believe in yourself and keep mounting the pressure/attack. At some point, the dam will burst. I’m confident in saying that; this team’s too talented.

SAMMY TIME

I wasn’t crazy about Ilya Samsonov’s, “I don’t give a f**k” quote after he was asked about his counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance following Game 2. I mean, he should give a puck —but I do comprehend why he answered like that. At any rate, there’s no question the Leafs need their No. 1 netminder to be a positive factor moving forward. Even though it’s important to acknowledge that numbers aren’t everything, Samsonov has been nowhere close to Bobrovsky so far in the series. At the very least, he can’t be surrendering the softies (like the Barkov one), something unfortunately this franchise/fan base has been prone to witnessing over the years of dismay. I would love a signature Ilya Samsonov performance tonight.

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.betano.ca/">BETANO</a> BETTING PLAY:

OVER 6.5 GOALS

<a href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=">Discover Betano.ca</a> - a premium Sports Betting and Online Casino experience. Offering numerous unique and dynamic betting options along with diverse digital and live casino games, Betano is where The Game Starts Now. 19+. Please play responsibly.

 

MITCH’S DISHES:

<a href="https://www.skipthedishes.com/search/Mitch%27s%20Dishes?utm_source=Game">Order Mitch's Dishes now</a>, exclusively on Skip the Dishes! Use promo code TLN15 to get $15 off when you spend $30 or more on Skip the Dishes. If Mitch likes it, it's gotta be great! A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Marner Assist Fund to combat food insecurity. Skip is serving up game time eats to the GTA and Ontario with Mitch's Dishes, ready for you to enjoy during tonight's Leafs game!

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