


Paul Maurice has a big call to make.
The head coach of the Florida Panthers has been riding No. 3 goaltender Alex Lyon to great success over Florida’s five-game winning streak, but starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is now healthy and is, on talent alone, the better option for the Cats in a must-win game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.
While Lyon has been stellar over the past two weeks, he’s played 37 NHL games and, prior to this stretch, owned a sub .900 save percentage.
In fact, Lyon’s save percentage through his first seven games this season was .876.
The former Yale Bulldog has been lights out for Florida over his last six outings, but he’s playing at an unsustainable level.
And if Maurice goes with Bobrovsky, who knows what type of form to expect out of the 34-year-old.
Bobrovsky hasn’t played since March 27 and he was riding a three-game winless streak with an .862 save percentage in that span before he came down with an illness.
Monday’s game is gigantic for Florida, but it is absolutely meaningless for the Maple Leafs.
We could see a lot of lineup rotation from Toronto, but there will still be plenty of high-end offensive talent on display from both sides.
That star power should be able to shine in a game that figures to be wide open with one team just going through the motions.
Whether it’s Lyon or Bobrovsky in goal, there are signals pointing to the Over in this one.
The Play: Over 7 goals.