Maple Leafs, Panthers taking different approaches to find a preparation edge in series

Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk plans to get a scouting report on the Toronto Maple Leafs from younger brother Brady Tkachuk before Florida's second round showdown against Toronto starts. Brady's Ottawa Senators lost to the Leafs in a hard-fought first-round series.

"I'll ask a lot about individuals," Matthew said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday. "Like, what you can exploit with some guys. What guys maybe get a little too riled up. What guys you can get off their game. What guys are looking like they're playing through stuff or look a little injured. It's all the little stuff I'll ask him."

Florida and Toronto will open their series on Monday at Scotiabank Arena. 

Due to injury, Tkachuk hasn't faced the Leafs since November. How much will he benefit from the brotherly banter? Will the expert agitator now have an advantage because he knows what buttons to push?

"Well, if you allow people to push your buttons then maybe," Leafs coach Craig Berube said with a smile. "That's the way I look at. You can control what you want to control."

"I'm sure that there will be some kind of advantage," acknowledged defenceman Morgan Rielly. "But, I mean, we're going to watch all their games. They're going to watch all our games. It'll come down to preparation, work ethic, commitment, competitiveness, all that stuff.

Berube has stressed discipline and composure since the start of the playoffs. The Senators drew the most penalties in the regular season, but the Leafs ended up with two more power plays than Ottawa in their first-round series. 

"Emotion plays a big part of the game," Berube said. "We got through one round and it's going to be more elevated now."

Teams rarely divulge injury information at this time of year, and the Leafs have no significant absences at the moment. But guys are always playing through things and the Senators likely had some sense of which Leafs were hurting. What if Brady passes that on to his brother? 

"I mean, everyone's banged up in the playoffs so it doesn't matter," said Leafs winger Steven Lorentz. "If a guy is able to tie his skates and put his jersey on and stand out there and start the game then you're going to expect his best no matter what."

With guys like Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand on the other side, there's potential for this series to be nastier than the first round. 

"I don't feel worried about it at all," Berube said. "I mean, our team, they're ready for it. They understand it. Listen, that's playoffs. It's going to be hard, and there's going to be hits, and you've got to get up and play. And you've got to be disciplined. I'm going to keep talking about it."

The Panthers lead the playoffs in hits per 60 minutes. The Senators are second. The Leafs are 12th.

Florida also led the NHL in hits during the regular season. The Leafs ranked eighth.

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Lorentz is one of three former Panthers on the Leafs. Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz also lifted the Stanley Cup with Florida last season. So, Toronto also has access to some inside information. 

"I was just talking with Stollie after we won that last game in Ottawa," said winger Bobby McMann. "Just talking about the style of play that they have and those little things that you just pick up on. And just kind of recognize their tendencies that he's seen over the last little while. It definitely is going to help and hopefully can help give guys some more direction."

The coaching staff is factoring in intelligence from Ekman-Larsson, Lorentz and Stolarz as they fine tune the game plan. 

"I've had discussions with them," Berube confirmed. "There are things that you might not know. More mindset stuff for me with those guys, you know, being in the locker room and being around the organization and the team."

"That could help us for sure," said Rielly. "Obviously, there's differences in both teams, in every team year-after-year, but we'll take any advantage we can get." 

The Panthers have won eight of their last nine playoff series. Florida also won three of four regular season games against the Leafs. It's hard to find any weaknesses when it comes to the defending champions. 

"They don't play like individuals," Lorentz said. "They buy into the system and it works and they're just consistent night in and night out."

There's no secret that the Panthers will rely on a ferocious forecheck. 

"That's their M.O. [modus operandi]," said Berube. "It's going to be a battle. It's going to be a grind. You can talk all these X's and O's you want and, yes, there's things that we're going to do to try to nullify their forecheck, but in the end they're going to forecheck. They're going to get there so you've got to battle it out, and you've got to have numbers in there, and you've got to work together."

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The Leafs dropped the first three games against the Panthers en route to a five-game loss in the second round of the playoffs in 2023. Did they struggle to refocus after finally getting over the hump and winning a first round series? 

"I don't think so," said Rielly when asked to reflect. "But, certainly, we're going to look at everything. We're not going to leave any stone unturned. If you look at that series, going down early is not what you want, and so obviously we'll look to improve on that."

Rielly is one of eight Leafs expected to take part in Game 1 that also played for Toronto in their series against the Panthers in 2023. 

"Half of our teams are different so there's not much at all to be used from that series," Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "They've also had a fairly significant style change in their game with their coaching change."

There's also a different feel around Toronto's core players. 

There was raw emotion for the Leafs following the Game 6 win in Tampa Bay two years ago as they celebrated a long-awaited milestone. But in the immediate aftermath of Thursday's clinching win in Ottawa, the Leafs were already looking ahead. 

"We're happy obviously to be in the second round, but now our focus is Florida," winger William Nylander said in the first answer of his media session on Thursday night. "So that's where I think our mind's at."

"We kept it in check," said Lorentz of the first-round celebration. "We understood, you know, it was a stepping stone."

Like prior to Game 6, Berube described the mood around his group as businesslike on Saturday. 

"Ready to go for the second round," the coach said. "That's my feel."

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Most of Toronto's bottom-six forward group took the ice on Saturday, but centre Scott Laughton was not present. Is there any concern about his health after he blocked a Jake Sanderson shot in the final minute of Thursday's game? 

"No, he's good," Berube said. "He's all good."

Laughton was spotted with an ice pack covering a bloodied arm after Thursday's game. He received the game puck from captain Auston Matthews in the dressing room. 

"Things like that, that maybe don't show up in the scoresheet, makes a world of difference," said Lorentz. "And that's the difference between winning and losing a tight game."

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Attendance at Saturday's optional practice: 

Forwards 
18 Lorentz 
19 Jarnkrok
29 Holmberg 
64 Kampf
74 McMann
89 Robertson

Defence 
2 Benoit
8 Tanev
25 Carlo
28 Hakanpää
36 Mermis
44 Rielly
51 Myers

Goalie 
60 Woll