The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night after a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. The defeat also postponed their opportunity to secure home-ice advantage in the upcoming playoffs.
Florida took an early lead in the first period when Gustav Forsling scored shortly after a faceoff win by Anton Lundell. The puck went directly to Forsling, who released a quick wrist shot that got past Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll. Despite allowing the goal, Woll made 34 saves throughout the game.
Following the loss, Toronto captain John Tavares accepted responsibility for the play that led to Forsling’s goal. He admitted that he misread the situation and mistimed the faceoff, which gave Florida a clean chance to score.
“That one’s on me,” Tavares said in a postgame interview. “You learn the tendencies of opponents, and I thought he was going to do something different. I just got it wrong.” He added, “You can’t afford to lose faceoffs cleanly like that, especially in the middle of the ice.”
Florida reclaimed the lead early in the third period when Eetu Luostarinen scored from close range, making it 2-1. Carter Verhaeghe later secured the victory with an empty-net goal with just 47 seconds left on the clock.
The Maple Leafs are currently in a tight race in the Atlantic Division and hold a slim two-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their next game is against Tampa on Wednesday. A loss could hurt their chances of finishing first in the division.
TSN analyst Craig Button emphasized the importance of the Leafs securing the top spot in their division. He believes that avoiding a first-round playoff matchup against either Florida or Tampa Bay is critical to preventing another early playoff exit.
“For the Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing first would be a major achievement and should be their focus,” Button stated. “You don’t want to face Florida or Tampa Bay right away—those teams are tough and present real challenges.”
Button also noted that Toronto hasn’t reached the same level of playoff success as those two teams, who have both won Stanley Cups in recent years. Against Florida on Tuesday, the Leafs were outshot 37-18 and struggled in the faceoff circle. Florida also welcomed back their captain Aleksander Barkov to the lineup, adding to Toronto’s difficulties. With only one playoff series win in the past four seasons, the Leafs will need to respond strongly in Wednesday’s game.