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Matthew Tkachuk watched Chris Tanev block hundreds of shots and take even more hits in their time with the Calgary Flames.

A gritty, in-your-face forward himself, he grew to appreciate the hard-nosed defenceman’s approach over two seasons as teammates.

That admiration has only grown as adversaries.

Tkachuk and his Florida Panthers are battling Tanev’s pc28����Maple Leafs in the second round of the playoffs in a series that, like most of his time in the NHL, has exacted a physical toll on the veteran blueliner.

“I’m very impressed with how he’s played,” Tkachuk said of the 35-year-old in the hours before Game 4 with the Leafs ahead 2-1 in the Atlantic Division matchup. “To see him at this stage, and continue to do it year after year, it’s incredible.”

Tanev is also, quite frankly, taking a beating this spring.

Read the full story here.

A sea of fans in blue and white fills Maple Leaf Square at the tailgate party outside Scotiabank Arena ahead of the Leafs game against the Florida Panthers tonight.

Long-time Leafs fan Harsidaq Grewal came out to the square with her sister, Gurnadar, to cheer on the team and experience fan camaraderie, “especially because we’re up in the series,” she said.

“I think it’s cool how so many people are excited to be here,” said Gurnadar, a newer Leafs fan than her sister.

Reflecting on Friday’s overtime loss, Harsidaq hopes the team “can step it up” tonight, even with Anthony Stolarz injured. “I just hope Florida doesn’t play (well),” she said.

Justin Bieber is just a typical Maple Leafs fan.

The Canadian singer was clearly feeling the nerves ahead of Game 4, and took to Instagram to ask his fans and followers to pour their energy into his favourite hockey team.

“Direct all of your love and prayers toward the pc28����Maple Leafs thanks big game this eve,” the post read.

Bieber, who has relationships with several players including Auston Matthews and has collaborated with the team in the past, has been posting about the Leafs throughout the playoffs as he watches the games.

Auston Matthews was a notable absence at the Maple Leafs’ morning skate, according to multiple reports from Florida.

The Leafs captain did not participate in the usual pre-game skate, but the team said he was resting and will be in the lineup for Game 4.

Matthews has three assists in three games against the Panthers in this series, and has two goals and eight assists in nine games since these playoffs began.

“He’s our captain. He’s our leader and he’s been an incredible player for us,” defenceman Chris Tanev told reporters on Sunday. “So I expect him to be the same tonight. He’s going to show up and be great for us.”

pc28����Maple Leafs fans are in the singing spirit with a playoffs series lead in Round 2 against the Florida Panthers.

An online video is going viral for showing fans serenading the team’s anthem singer Natalie Morris with an impromptu rendition of “O Canada” on the TTC subway.

The singalong was initially posted to TikTok Thursday before the Leafs put it out on their social media Friday afternoon.

Read the full story — and watch the video — here.

Max Pacioretty wears No. 67, a number fans of the Maple Leafs have an uneasy relationship with.

After all, 1967 was the year the team last won the Stanley Cup and fans in other buildings will sometimes chant “sixty-seven” to remind the players on the ice.

It’s the number Pacioretty has worn since he joined the NHL in 2008 with Montreal. He wore it in Vegas, Carolina and Washington and when he got to pc28����in September, well, the number was available.

Asked in training camp why he went with 67, he was ready with an answer.

“I hope to bring the team luck with that number,” he said.

Read the full story here from Kevin McGran.

Such a scene would have been simply unimaginable just a few months ago. Brad Marchand scores an overtime goal to win a playoff game, and Florida Panthers great-turned-executive Roberto Luongo pumps his fists and gives some hugs in celebration.

Well, it happened.

They have history and lots of it, including Marchand scoring four goals against Luongo in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

But now, Luongo loves him. So, too, does everyone else in Florida, from the fan base to the players and everyone in between, with good reason. Nobody on the Florida roster has more points in these playoffs or a better plus-minus than Marchand, who will celebrate his 37th birthday on Sunday when he and the Panthers play Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the pc28����Maple Leafs.

Read the full story here from the Associated Press. 

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—There were at least a couple of ways to look at the Maple Leafs’ 5-4 overtime loss in Game 3 of their second-round series with the Florida Panthers.

You could spin it as a blown chance to bury the reigning Stanley Cup champs deep in a 3-0 series hole. Handing a team as accomplished as Florida the gift of renewed life is never optimal, especially in a game in which the Leafs carved out two separate two-goal leads. The Panthers are known around here as the Comeback Cats for a reason.

While it might make sense to see such a furious rally as a dramatic turning point, history suggests such comebacks are more often one-off blips. That makes sense. There’s usually a reason a team requires an improbable comeback to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole: Their opponent is really good.

Read Dave Feschuk’s full column here.

No sooner had I arrived at the Star’s main offices on Monday morning than I was informed, in a way that suggested I should be delighted about it, that the Winnipeg Jets had secured a hard-fought double-overtime victory against the St. Louis Blues in an NHL game the night before.

My own team, the pc28����Maple Leafs, had already advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, having defeated the Ottawa Senators after six games, three in the Leafs’ home rink and three in the Leafs’ other home rink. Still, I was delighted for the Jets’ several fans.

You may be wondering how I can be so smug in my fandom: after all, something something 1967. You also may be thinking that this kind of raillery is unsuited to the times: facing economic and existential threats from the United States, we should all pull together to support Canadian teams. Hockey, as telecom and gambling companies love to tell us, is our game.

Read the column from Graeme Bayliss

Six wins into what’s already the best playoff run of the Shanaplan era, it couldn’t be going much better for the Maple Leafs. But there’ve been moments when fans will be forgiven for imagining a handful of those wins taking a turn for the worst.

For all their success, including a 2-0 series lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Maple Leafs have been watching third-period leads disappear on the regular.

In Wednesday’s Game 2, for instance, pc28����watched a 3-2 advantage turn to a 3-3 tie early in the final frame on a goal by Anton Lundell. For past iterations of this Leafs team, that tying goal might have turned the tide, with the Leafs proceeding to drown under the weight of a blown lead. On Wednesday it took all of 17 seconds for Mitch Marner to restore the pc28����lead on the way to a 4-3 win.

Read the column from the Star’s Dave Feschuk