Maple Leafs aiming to dial up desperation against Panthers

The Florida Panthers skated at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Thursday.

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The Leafs are aiming to dial up the desperation as they continue an uphill push toward a playoff spot on Thursday night in south Florida.

“We know that, especially after a night like [Wednesday], we just have to continue to be better,” said centre John Tavares. “There’s obviously only so many games left. All we can control is one at a time, but urgency has to be high.”

The Leafs returned from the Olympic break with a thud in losing 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. Toronto will wrap up its two-game swing through Florida on Thursday against the defending champion Florida Panthers.

Toronto is six points out of a playoff spot with 24 games remaining.

“Every point matters,” said winger Matthew Knies. “So, yeah, we got to be focused and just give a better effort, you know, play like we’re a team fighting for the playoffs.”

Florida sits two points behind Toronto and can pass their division rival with a regulation win.

“It’s going to be intense,” said Panthers winger Brad Marchand. “Both teams are fighting for their lives … It’s going to be a playoff-type game. We’re going to expect their best and we expect ours.”

Leafs coach Craig Berube felt his team came out flat in the second period on Wednesday night, which allowed the Lightning to take control of the game. “It has to be for 60 minutes,” Berube said when asked about his team’s desperation level. “It is something we discuss all the time. We played a good first period. We have to come out ready for the second.”

‘Toronto should not be trying to figure out where they are…’ In a new Ray & Dregs podcast, Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger discuss the Leafs’ direction after their loss to in Tampa and Keith Pelley’s letter to season ticket holders.

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Berube lamented a lack of execution in Wednesday’s loss pointing out that his team failed to land a shot on net on their three 2-on-1 chances in the first period.

Did the long layoff between games lead to rust?

“I know that they have a little bit more players that played in the Olympics, but that’s no excuse,” Knies said. “I think we’re both dealing with that, just kind of getting back from it. So, we just didn’t execute on the little details of our game. And, again, we just got to be more desperate, stay out of the box, play a bit more hungry.”

The Leafs had three players suit up at the Olympics while the Lightning had eight. The Panthers had 10.

“All of those guys played at as high a level as you’re going to see outside of the playoffs potentially,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “Very fast, very quick. So that’s what we got to bank on. The guys that came back, they’ve played. They didn’t get a lot of rest, fine, but our guys are used to that. It’s been three years of it, so we’re expecting those guys to be sharp.”

All of the Panthers Olympians took part in Thursday’s morning skate.

“There’s definitely a little adjustment period,” said centre Sam Bennett, who played for Team Canada. “A little bit of jet lag and tiredness, but for the most part, it’s not too bad.”

The Panthers had seven players in action through the medal round. The Leafs had just one in Auston Matthews, who helped Team USA win the gold. Matthews logged nearly 23 minutes on Wednesday.

“He was fine,” Berube said. “I used him a lot at the end, obviously, with the goalie out. They did some really good things with the goalie out. I didn’t sense he was tired or anything like that. He was good.”

Matthews was not available to the media after Wednesday’s game.

Leafs Ice Chips: Berube sees no fatigue in Matthews; Maurice expects Olympians to be sharp The Panthers will play their first game since the Olympic break and all 10 of their Olympians were on the ice Thursday morning ahead of the game against the Maple Leafs. What is head coach Paul Maurice expecting from his players who participated in Milano Cortina 2026? TSN’s Mark Masters reports.

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The Panthers will honour their Olympians as well as Matthews in a pre-game ceremony.

“It’s going to be really special,” said winger Matthew Tkachuk, who was teammates with Matthews in Milan. “I think the building’s going to go nuts. Just from what I’ve seen the last couple days here, people are just so excited and appreciative of our team. Like, I really think our team really showed what it’s like to be true Americans and the pride we played with and how we would do every single thing for our country. So, the support we’ve gotten is incredible.”

Tkachuk wishes Matthews got a little more love.

“He was so incredible for our team and as a captain, as a leader, everything on and off the ice,” Tkachuk said. “He still doesn’t get credit for the player he is and I’ll never understand.”

But the warm words between the pair will give way to fierce competition on Thursday night.

“We were joking at E11even [nightclub on Monday night], like we might have to just slash each other in the face and get kicked out,” Tkachuk said with a grin. “But we have to flip the switch. Both of our teams are out of the playoff race right now.”

‘Roof might fall off’: Tkachuk feels Matthews deserves more credit; eager to share love in ceremony Teammates will once again turn foes as the Maple Leafs visit the Panthers in a matchup that will feature prominent Team USA players on either side. Matthew Tkachuk spoke about what it will be like to go up against Auston Matthews and the buzz that will be in the building to celebrate the success of the American team.

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It’s been a whirlwind few days for Tkachuk since winning gold on Sunday. He partied with teammates on Monday night in Miami before visiting with U.S. president Donald Trump at the White House and attending the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“Last night was the first good sleep, first time actually getting, I don’t know, I got a lot of hours last night,” Tkachuk said.

It’s been a much more subdued return to Florida for the four Canadian Olympians on the Panthers roster.

“It’s a weird dynamic,” said Marchand. “Obviously, we’re disappointed and you want a different outcome but, at the same time, trying to remember to be grateful for the incredible part of it all … it was a dream come true.”

“I think as time passes a little bit, we’ll digest it a little bit more,” said winger Sam Reinhart. “Obviously, it’s an opportunity you can only ever dream of. It’s something you think about from a young age and never know if it’s going to be a possibility. I think that aspect is something that’s maybe going to sink it a little bit more as time passes, but obviously it’s pretty raw right now.”

Canada won its quarter-final game against Czechia in overtime before beating Finland on a last minute goal in the semifinal. It felt like they would be the team of destiny.

“To feel what we felt on the ice after that quarters, after that semis, was truly something I’ve never felt on the ice after a game,” Reinhart said. “That’s what makes it sting that much more.”

‘It’s pretty raw right now’: Reinhart still hasn’t processed Team Canada’s loss Sam Reinhart admits that time is still needed to process Canada’s loss to the U.S. at the Olympics and spoke about how the quick turnaround to focusing on the NHL will help. The Panthers forward also touched on how special it was to score a big goal in the semifinals for his country.

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Tkachuk wore his gold medal during his media session, but kept it in his pocket while walking around the Panthers facility.

“I got here early to take pictures with some of the staff and whoever wanted to, but kept it away from the players,” he said. “I don’t think any players have seen it. A couple, actually a couple of the Americans I showed. So, they were really proud and they thought it was really cool, but no, I just pulled it out of my pocket right before walking in here.”

Is there any awkwardness with his Canadian teammates?

“Absolutely not,” Tkachuk said. “I mean, we’re all competitors. We’re all first and foremost players for the Florida Panthers and especially what we’ve built over the last few years. Like, the relationships we have in that room are as good as you’re ever going to find.”

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Knies used the Olympic break to rest a nagging knee injury and gear up for the stretch drive.

“It felt good energy-wise, legs-wise,” he said of his first game back. “It takes a shift or two to kind of get back into the physicality of things, but I felt great. But I think a little bit of the execution, again with me, too, just making passes, I think I fanned on a few that, you know, could have been grade-A chances. So I got to clean those little things up, and I should be good.”

Tavares, who is 35, also hoped the break would serve him well. Although the benefit of that layoff was muted by an illness that knocked him out of practice on Tuesday. How did he feel in Tampa?

“Not bad,” he said. “Having the extra day [off the ice] helped me a lot, but still improving.”

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Projected Panthers lineup for Thursday’s game:

Verhaeghe – Rodrigues – Reinhart

Samoskevich – Bennett – Tkachuk

Marchand – Lundell – Luostarinen

Greer – Schwindt – Vilmanis

Forsling – Ekblad

Mikkola – Balinskis

Sebrango – Petry

Bobrovsky starts