$77,000,000 Maple Leafs star admits his mistake in vital faceoff that led to Panthers' first goal

Toronto Maple Leafs were defeated 3-1 by the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The loss ended their four-game winning streak and delayed their chance to clinch home ice in the playoffs.

Florida opened the scoring in the first period with Gustav Forsling's goal. He scored immediately after a faceoff win by Anton Lundell. The puck went straight to Forsling, and he was ready for the wrist shot. Leafs goalie Joseph Woll missed the save but stopped 34 shots in the game.

After the game, John Tavares admitted he made a mistake on that faceoff. He said he misread the play and mistimed the drop.

"That one's on me," Tavares told reporters. “I think you understand tendencies of guys you go against and what they do, and I was anticipating something on his end and I just completely mistimed and misread it. It's on me."

“Obviously can't lose them clean like that and give an opportunity in the middle of the ice,” he added.

Maple Leafs signed Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million contract back in 2018. He is in the last year of his contract and it carries an $11 million cap hit per season.

The Panthers regained the lead early in the third period when Eetu Luostarinen scored from the crease to make it 2-1. Carter Verhaeghe sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining.

Craig Button believes Maple Leafs should prioritize securing first spot in their division

The Maple Leafs will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. They are holding a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division standings from Tampa. A loss could lower their chances of finishing first. TSN analyst Craig Button talked about this scenario and said that securing first place should be Toronto’s main goal.

Button believes avoiding Florida or Tampa in the first round is important to avoid another playoff first-round exit.

"I think for the Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing first is something that's a significant accomplishment, and it should be their goal," Craig Button said. "You don't want to play Florida and/or Tampa Bay in the first round. Those two teams, I think, pose real challenges for the Toronto Maple Leafs."

Button said the Leafs haven’t achieved what those two teams have (winning Stanley Cup recently). Toronto lost to Florida on Tuesday and was outshot 37-18 and did not perform well in faceoffs. Florida had Aleksander Barkov back in the lineup. Button said Toronto did not play well and so, they will have to bounce back in Wednesday’s game. The Leafs have made the playoffs four years in a row but out of those three seasons, they have won only once.