The Maple Leafs made their final stop in Florida last night—before the playoffs at least—and left with another loss. This time though they managed to take the Florida Panthers to overtime, picking up one standings point to hold on to home ice advantage for the playoffs. They haven’t clinched that yet, but they now have a two win cushion for it with most teams at three games remaining.

Here’s our live recap of last night’s game:

Leafs and Panthers trade goals and rush chances,  Florida wins in the end

In a very quick turnaround, the Leafs are now in Washington to play the Capitals tonight at 7:00 p.m.. We’ll have our preview of the game out later this afternoon.

The Marlies play their final home game of the season today at 4:00 p.m. against the Belleville Senators. A win here is critical to hold a playoff spot, even if only for the play-in round.

Other News

The Kings did go on to win this game, but Jonathan Quick sure didn’t have a fun night.

[VIDEO] Montreal fans pay tribute to Guy Lafleur - CBC
Fans gathered at the Bell Centre, Friday to pay their respects to Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur, who passed away at age 70.

Commentator fired for making racist comment during B.C. junior hockey game - CBC
Bruce MacDonald, the colour commentator for a Port Alberni radio station's broadcast of the match between the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the Langley Rivermen, has been fired after making a disparaging comment against Rivermen forward Owen Kim during the game.

We’re now in the final week of the regular season, so it’s very quiet on the news front. Enjoy the nice weather this afternoon as it’s forecast to rain all day tomorrow in Toronto.

From The Branches