The Leafs took both the Lightning and Panthers to overtime on their Florida trip, but ultimately lost both games thanks to some great goaltending from Roberto Luongo and Andrei Vasilevsky.

Arvind wrote our recap of last night’s game, though Grand Master of Puns Fulemin provided the headline.

Jared McCann, Zaitsev McCan’t: Leafs 2 - Panthers 3 (OT) - Arvind
A strong effort from the team sees them leave Florida with 2 in 2.

The Leafs now have a few days off before their outdoor game—yeah, did you even remember that’s happening? It’s Saturday against the Capitals, and is a late 8:00PM start.

If you need a hockey fix before then, the Marlies have a game today. This morning even! The Marlies are hosting 7,000 screaming Toronto Catholic District School Board children for a game against the Syracuse Crunch (Lightning affiliate) with an early 11:00 am puck drop. I’ll be there and keep you up to date.

ICYMI

Here is what we published yesterday.

Six Points in Five Games: It’s been weeks since the Leafs had that pace - Katya
How long does all this winning go on before it stops being a streak and becomes who the team is?

Mailbag: Villains and the Kessel Trade - Fulemin
All that and more in this week’s mailbag.

PPP Roundtable reactions: So about that trade deadline - PPP!
Our deepest thoughts and analysis of the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline

Olympian Jocelyne Larocque returns to Markham Thunder - Baseball Annie
Larocque will be in the lineup for this weekend’s home series against the Calgary Inferno

Other Hockey News

It was a busy night in the NHL.

And they say Wild Fans are ‘number one’ LOL. Also note this game ended with the Wild up 8-3 against the Blues who now look to be in ‘18-wheeler off a cliff’ mode, falling out of a playoff slot with only two wins in their last ten games.

Sabres Recall Seth Griffith - Die By The Blade
[Species: This is just in time for the Sabres to play four games against the Leafs through the rest of the season. You now know who will score all the game winning goals.]

Learning from the Beleskey contract - Stanley Cup of Chowder
"In 2014-15, his contract year, he shot 14.5%, scoring 18 goals at 5v5 alone. Does shooting talent exist? Yes. However, Beleskey’s shooting percentage was at an unsustainable rate, and was due to fall back to normal. "

Analyzing the Rangers’ Acquisitions From Boston - Blueshirt Banter
Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, and Ryan Lindgren are now Rangers.

Hornqvist inks contract extension with Penguins - PensBurgh
Rutherford gets a massive deal done with the re-signing of right-winger Patric Hornqvist to a five-year, $5.3 million contract extension.

The Capitals Should Fire Barry Trotz - Japers' Rink
The cost-benefit analysis says it’s about time for the Caps to move on from their current bench boss.

This is fine as long as it starts at 7pm Eastern time.

Species Recommends

How local radio and bingo united a Newfoundland town, then tore it apart - The G&M
I don’t often recommend reading things, but when I do, you damn well better read them. This is from a few months ago, but only now brought to my attention. It's really good writing, and a glimpse into a culture within Canada to which you have likely not had much or any exposure.

From The Branches