Toronto sits two points behind Florida for first in the Atlantic Division, but the Panthers hold the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.
Feb 6, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi (11) celebrates a goal with forward Auston Matthews (34), left, and defenseman Jake McCabe (22) during the second period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing for a playoff-like atmosphere on Thursday against the Florida Panthers.
Both teams are neck and neck for first place in the Atlantic Division standings, with Florida two points up over Toronto. If the Maple Leafs win inside Scotiabank Arena, they'll move into a tie with the Panthers for the top spot (Florida, though, has the tiebreaker).
Toronto, however, isn't focused on finishing the season atop the Atlantic Division.
"That sh*t doesn't matter to us," Max Domi said on Thursday morning following Toronto's optional morning skate.
"We just try to beat every team we play against and every game is just as important. So we'll focus day-by-day, game-by-game, and a good test tonight against the defending champs. It's going to be a fun one."
Instead, the Maple Leafs want to dial in their game for the playoffs, especially with new additions Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo entering their lineup. They also could get Chris Tanev back after missing the last six games with an upper-body injury.
"It's definitely important [to finish first in the Atlantic]. Home ice advantage going into the playoffs is something that, you'd be lying if you said it wasn't an advantage," Steven Lorentz said on Thursday.
"It's definitely huge, but at the same time, we're fine-tuning our game for if that doesn't happen, if we don't come first. Whatever happens, we're going to play our game and we don't care where we finish. It doesn't matter what teams we play in the first round. We're not looking past that. We need to focus on ourselves."
At this point in the season, every game matters. And Toronto isn't just in a fight with Florida, but the Tampa Bay Lightning too. The Lightning sit three points behind the Maple Leafs for second in the division and want to move up in the standings.
"It matters how you're playing, it doesn't matter where you finish. As long as you're going into the playoffs and that first round on a high note," Lorentz added.
"It's the last stretch after the deadline, like, that's the team you're rolling with. It's up to the coaches and the players to figure out that role that they're going to contribute to come playoff time. And it's an exciting time. The hockey gets more fun, it ramps up, everyone's more dialed into it."
The Panthers will be without Matthew Tkachuk and new addition Brad Marchand as they deal with injuries, but Florida will still find ways to make life difficult on the Maple Leafs, even in a regular season game.
After this, the two teams play twice—on Apr. 2 in Toronto and on Apr. 8 in Florida—before the playoffs begin. It shall be an entertaining final stretch of the season before the real stuff gets underway.
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