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SUNRISE, Fla. -- Now that the NHL Trading Deadline has passed, the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs can get back to trying to turn around a season headed in the wrong direction.
The Maple Leafs, who made two trades Monday, return to action Tuesday against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center, when they will look to end a franchise-worst 16-game road losing streak (0-14-2).
"We can relax a little bit, there's not as much pressure right now," defenseman Jake Gardiner said. "Playing in Toronto, there's a lot of pressure all the time and now there's not as much. Guys can relax and enjoy it, but at the same time still work their butts off and hopefully start getting some wins."
The Maple Leafs, who last won on the road Dec. 31 when they defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 in a shootout, are two games shy of the franchise record for the longest winless streak on the road.
Toronto failed to win any of its first 18 road games in 1982-83, with 13 losses and five ties.
The Maple Leafs (25-33-5) have scored five goals in their past six road games, including 4-0 shutout losses against the Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals last weekend.
"There's been a lot of talk about it, about goals and not scoring goals," said interim head coach Peter Horachek, who served in the same role for the Panthers at the end of last season. "You have empty nets and you hit posts and you had different things. You're getting opportunities. You've got to find a way to score those. If you're not scoring goals, you have to get inside and you have to get hungry and you have to find second opportunities. Sometimes they feel a little tight, they start squeezing their sticks and maybe they're not scoring where they normally would."
The Maple Leafs roster includes two players acquired Monday, center Joakim Lindstrom and veteran defenseman Eric Brewer, as well as defenseman Tim Erixon, who was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
The Panthers didn't make any trades Monday after making three last week. The biggest involved the acquisition of veteran Jaromir Jagr, who had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
The goal was the 717th of Jagr's career, moving him into a tie with Phil Esposito for fifth place on the NHL's all-time list.
With Jagr in the lineup, the Panthers scored nine goals in sweeping weekend games against the Buffalo Sabres and Lightning. They had scored 12 goals combined in their previous nine games.
Florida will be seeking its second three-game winning streak of the season. The Panthers (28-22-13) are two points behind the Boston Bruins for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, although the Bruins have played one fewer game.
Florida defeated Toronto both times the teams have faced this season, 6-4 at BB&T Center on Dec. 28 and 3-2 at Air Canada Centre on Feb. 17.
"We can't take this team lightly because they can put pucks in the back of the net, they're a good lineup," Panthers defenseman Steven Kampfer said. "They can basically score whenever they want. I think we have to have our best game tonight and go forward because we're trying to push for the playoffs."
Here are the projected lineups:
MAPLE LEAFS
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Joffrey Lupul - Nazem Kadri - Richard Panik
Leo Komarov - Peter Holland - David Booth
Zach Sill - Joakim Lindstrom - Brandon Kozun
Jake Gardiner - Stephane Robidas
Scratched: Tim Erixon
Injured: Trevor Smith (lower body)
PANTHERS
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen - Nick Bjugstad - Brad Boyes
Brandon Pirri - Vincent Trocheck - Jimmy Hayes
Tomas Kopecky - Derek MacKenzie - Scottie Upshall
Dmitry Kulikov - Erik Gudbranson
Steven Kampfer - Alex Petrovic
Scratched: Shawn Thornton
Injured: Willie Mitchell (upper body), Dave Bolland (upper body)
Status report: Mitchell will miss his 15th consecutive game, but he said after the morning skate he expects to be in the lineup Thursday when the Panthers play the Dallas Stars. ... Bolland, who has missed the past five games, was expected to be at the morning skate but was held out because of the flu. ... Brewer didn't arrive in South Florida in time for the morning skate, but he was expected by the middle of the afternoon.
Who's hot: Boyes had a goal and three assists in the past two games. ... Campbell had three assists in the past two games. ... Kadri and van Riemsdyk each had a goal and two assists in the first two games against Florida.
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