A couple of first-period special teams goals and a solid performance by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky were all the Panthers needed to defeat Toronto 5-1 Thursday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
The sun is quickly setting on any hope of a Maple Leafs’ playoff run. Following the break, Toronto has lost back-to-back games against Tampa and Florida, respectively, earning zero points in the process.
There was not much drama in terms of the outcome. Florida took the lead 3:18 into the first period. Anton Lundell flipped what looked like an innocent shot toward Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll, but the netminder lost control of the rebound, and Brad Marchand tapped in the loose puck to make it 1-0.
Less than two minutes later, Carter Verhaeghe scored on a Panthers’ power play. Toronto defenceman Troy Stecher misplayed a bad hop behind the Leafs’ net, losing possession. Lundell gathered in the puck, fed it out front to Evan Rodrigues, who backhanded it to Verhaeghe for a wrister past Woll for the 2-0 advantage.
Toronto looked to narrow the gap late in the period on their own power play, but William Nylander lost the puck at centre ice to Rodrigues, who skated in alone on Woll and tucked one behind him to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Neither team scored in the second. Toronto finally broke through in the third period. Jon Tavares scored 47 seconds in, on the power play, to make it 3-1, but the Leafs could not get any closer.
Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk added empty net goals to make the final 5-1.
Next up, Toronto returns home Saturday night to take on the Ottawa Senators.
