Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube makes honest admission about ‘200-foot’ rival ahead of Panthers matchup

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers face off in another edition of their rivalry on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

It will be the fourth and final time they play this regular season. Toronto has lost two of its three matchups with Florida this year, although they most recently earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Panthers on April 2.

However, that game saw Florida missing their captain and best player, Aleksander Barkov. The superstar center has been sidelined for the last three games because of an upper-body injury, suffered on April 1 in Montreal. The good news for Panthers fans is that he will be returning on Tuesday night for the rematch with the Maple Leafs.

Barkov's return to the lineup poses a much greater challenge for Toronto, and head coach Craig Berube knows that. The Leafs' bench boss spoke highly about Barkov during his pregame media availability, shared on Youtube.

"Well, he's a great player. He's one of the best 200-foot players in the National Hockey League. So, um, he's difficult. He's hard. He's a hard opponent to go against, you know, who's ever out there against him. And, uh, you know, he makes their power play better, he makes their penalty kill better, and he makes their five-on-five game better," Berube said (12:42).

The 29-year-old has had another typical, productive season with 67 points (19 goals, 48 assists) despite playing in only 64 games thus far. He should see plenty of the top-line centers, Auston Matthews and John Tavares, on Tuesday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to get another step closer to winning to Atlantic Division

The Toronto Maple Leafs currently find themselves in a position that they've never been in the history of the Atlantic Division, first place.

With a 47-25-4 record and 98 points, the Maple Leafs enter Tuesday holding the division lead, just two points ahead of the Lightning (96 points) and another six ahead of the Panthers (92 points), with one game in hand on both teams.

Beating Florida in regulation on Tuesday night would guarantee that Toronto finishes ahead of them in the standings, while at the same time securing home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That would leave Tampa Bay, who the Leafs play on Wednesday night, as the only team left in the Atlantic that could catch them.

The Maple Leafs begin their mini two-game road trip in Florida on Tuesday night with a massive game against the Panthers. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Amerant Bank Arena.