Panthers sandbagging to play Maple Leafs in playoffs? Not really, but …

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A question has been posed of the championship hockey team that plays in year-round golf weather.

Are the Florida Panthers sandbagging?

The two-time Eastern Conference kings have hobbled out of the weekend weakened, suffering a fifth consecutive loss — something these consistent Cats haven’t done since January 2019.

The Panthers stuffed $49 million worth of roster players in the press box in Sunday’s 2-1 regulation loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It’s been seven games since they’ve scored as many as three goals in a single night. Last time Florida hung four on an opponent’s goalie was a month (13 games) ago — and that was against the lowly Sabres.

Heading into Tuesday’s “four-point” divisional tilt against the surging and stingy Toronto Maple Leafs, then, the Panthers have lost some teeth.

A week ago, they were firmly in the hunt for the Atlantic title. On Monday morning, they awake closer to a wild-card spot than earning home ice.

Life in the NHL comes at you fast.

The spunky Ottawa Senators, winners of three straight, have crept within two points of the 3-seed, while the Panthers have dropped four behind Toronto and two behind Tampa Bay, which holds a game in hand.

The tumble of Paul Maurice’s squad has been so drastic and curious, TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette lobbed a (tongue-in-cheek) conspiracy theory that the Cats are slipping into the 7-hole so Brad Marchand & Co. can face the Leafs in Round 1:

Two things can be true, though.

The Panthers can be dissatisfied with recent results but feel secure that their standings slippage won’t equal early elimination.

“We got eight guys out,” Maurice reminded reporters, following Sunday’s defeat.

“You always want every advantage that you can possibly get, home ice and all that. But we gotta heal some of these guys, and we’ve got to give ourselves a chance to be physically right when it starts. And our schedule won’t allow it: five sets of back-to-back in the last month of the season. So, we’re gonna get stacked up on. We knew it. We’re not really resting guys; we’re just healing them.”

Should Florida’s yet-to-be-determined first-round opponent feel encouraged that the champs will start the fight with a black eye and a bum knee?

Or should it be terrified of the ol’ rope a dope now that the path to a Battle of Ontario might get detoured?

Maurice has been a human truck pull in recent postgame scrums, he’s spinning so hard.

The coach was “very, very pleased” with his banged-up club’s effort and defence in Wednesday’s 3-2 playoff-like loss in Toronto loss. And the last-minute blown lead in Montreal? Well, you could play that out 100 more times, and Florida ends its slump.

“It’s all structural for us. We’re not scoring goals? I don’t care. We want to be in tight games — that’s fine,” Maurice said.

“There’s not going to be a tremendous amount of emotion on our part in the wins and losses.”

Whatever Maurice is selling, his players — well, who’s left of them — are buying.

“I wouldn’t say it matters where we end up,” reasons winger Mackie Samoskevich. “You gotta beat everybody if you want to win it all.”

The thing is, this isn’t all brave-face-in-the-winds-of-adversity rhetoric.

The Panthers core has a sturdy history of delivering when it matters most.

Down 3-1 to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins in 2023? No worries. The 8-seed rebounded with three consecutive series wins.

Blow a 3-0 lead in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final? OK. Bear down and finish the task in Game 7.

Moreover, their schedule and injury challenges are real, and this recent set of losses hasn’t been doused in blowouts.

Despite leaning on a disproportionate amount of AHL callups (Quick: Did you know Jesse Puljujärvi was a Panther? OK, did you know he was on the first line?!), Florida’s defensive structure and forechecking prowess passes the eye test. The Cats haven’t gotten frustrated and abandoned the plan.

Full health is around the corner. Sort of.

Captain Aleksander Barkov (upper body), defence whiz Gustav Forsling, sniper Sam Reinhart, and deadline pickup Nico Sturm are all maybes for Tuesday’s tilt versus Toronto.

Menace Sam Bennett is unlikely to suit up.

Underrated defenceman Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) won’t be a consideration until later this week.

Top-pair defenceman Aaron Ekblad will finish his 20-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs and provide an energy injection in Game 3.

But the status of Matthew Tkachuk (groin) is more uncertain and concerning.

Conversely, Toronto has built a four-point cushion atop the division. And the Leafs have stated publicly that seizing that No. 1 spot is a priority, a short-term internal goal en route to the same long-term one Florida accomplished less than 11 months ago.

“We’re trying to win the division here,” Panter-turned-Leaf Anthony Stolarz says. “That’s our main focus.”

Bonus: The Leafs have their game in order — as evidence by Saturday’s 5-0 clinic against the Blue Jackets, which gives them points in nine of 10 — and are relatively healthy.

The ailing Jake McCabe and David Kämpf won’t play in Florida or Tampa this week, but both are back practising.

And so, we have two contenders with equally lofty expectations attacking their objective from different mindsets.

Toronto needs a win, even if it’s a regular-season one, for a fresh look and a jolt of confidence.

Florida simply needs to catch its breath and heal its wounds.

Because the Panthers know better than anyone what happens when you finish the two-month war of attrition limping (2023) and win you finish strong (2024).

“We want to finish first because you’re trying to fight for every advantage that you possibly can,” Maurice conceded.

“And then it doesn’t matter. There are 15 teams every year that don’t get the right matchup.”

Leafs fans don’t need to put on a tinfoil cap to grasp that theory.

Or to worry that a divisional crown paired with a Florida wild-card berth might be worst-cast Ontario.

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