If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to keep their season alive, they’ll need to win four straight games against the Florida Panthers, starting with tonight’s Game 4 in Sunrise, Fla.
A win tonight would extend the series and force a Game 5 back in Toronto on Friday. A loss would see them sent home disappointed once again, still without a second round playoff victory since 2004.
Here’s everything you need to know about Game 4.
CAN THE LEAFS WIN 4 IN A ROW?
Of the 202 NHL teams that have ever gone down 0-3 in a best-of-seven playoff series, only four have come back to win.
It’s a steep hill to climb, and the Leafs no longer have any margin for error, but head coach Sheldon Keefe says he wants his players to focus on one game at a time.
“I don’t think it makes any sense for us to sit here and focus on coming all the way back, because there’s only one game on the schedule right now,” he said after Tuesday’s practice.
“So let’s focus on that one game. We need to win that one game and then we can take it from there, we’re looking to build some positive momentum here as a team with the one game that’s on the schedule. That’s where our focus is.”
Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, two of the four teams to rally from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs did so in the last 15 years. Most recently, the Los Angeles Kings pulled off the feat against the San Jose Sharks in a first-round series in 2014.
And Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin, who has missed most of the season and remains out due to a cervical spine injury, was on that Kings team.
“We leaned on [Muzzin] a lot throughout the season,” Keefe said.
“Some of it is spoken, but most of it is unspoken, it’s just his presence being around and a lot of it can be through his casual discussions with players. They’ll lean on him a lot in this case.”
Leafs players seem to be taking their coach’s advice, saying their sole focus is on Game 4 and ensuring they play with the required intensity and focus to win.
Toronto’s star winger Mitch Marner also told reporters on Tuesday that the team is tuning out the outside pressure being placed on them by fans and the media, who have been critical of Toronto’s play over the first three games of the series.
“I think I heard Auston [Matthews] say it and I think we’ve been saying it the whole time; we don’t care what you guys say. We don’t listen to you guys outside of this locker room,” he said.
“We’re just focused on ourselves and this group in here.”
LEAFS GAME 4 LINEUP, INJURIES
The Leafs have been bitten by the injury bug at the worst possible time, and will be without two key contributors in tonight’s must-win Game 4.
Rookie Matthew Knies, who scored his first NHL goal in Game 1 of the series, remains out tonight after suffering a concussion in Game 2. He also missed Game 3 of the series and is unlikely to return at all in the second round.
And Toronto’s starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov is out tonight as well with an upper body injury, Keefe confirmed.
Teammate Luke Schenn inadvertently knocked him down while sliding into the Leafs’ net in Game 3.
Samsonov was replaced by 24-year-old net minder Joseph Woll in the second period, and he’ll take Samsonov’s place again tonight.
“[Samsonov] is not available [Wednesday], he’s day-to-day,” Keefe said.
“[Woll] will go, and as I’ve been maintaining here, we have lots of confidence in him so we’re excited for him to have that opportunity.”
Keefe also appeared to shuffle his lineup yet again ahead of Game 4. At practice on Tuesday, Calle Järnkrok skated alongside Matthews and Marner on the top forward line.
Alexander Kerfoot joined Leafs captain John Tavares and William Nylander on the second line, while Michael Bunting, Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari made up the third.
Defensively, Keefe moved T.J. Brodie to the left side of the defence beside Justin Holl, keeping top defenders Schenn and Morgan Rielly together, and creating a new third pairing in Jake McCabe and Timothy Liljegren.
“We have lots of flexibility within our defense to try different things,” Keefe said.
“I think the timing’s right to change it up.”
WEATHER, START TIME
Whether the Leafs can extend their season tonight or not, fans with passes to the tailgate party in Maple Leaf Square outside Scotiabank Arena are in for a warm spring evening.
Temperatures this afternoon are expected to reach the low 20s, with partly cloudy conditions in the late afternoon, expected to clear and transition to sunny skies by the time the puck drops.
After the sun sets at 8:30 p.m., the forecast is calling for temperatures to remain around 15C for most of the night.
The puck is set to drop at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise shortly after 7 p.m.
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