The Florida Panthers began a season-long six-game road trip on Tuesday night in Toronto. Florida fell behind and never recovered, losing to the Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena. A tightly contested first period nearly ended without a goal, until a broken Panthers stick was the catalyst on a play that led to Toronto opening the scoring. After A.J. Greer’s stick busted on a one-time attempt, the puck found its way down the ice and into Florida’s zone, where a pretty passing play was punctuated by Easton Cowan’s fifth goal of the season that came with just 24 seconds left in the opening period. Toronto quickly made it 2-0 during the first minute of period two thanks to a nice deflection by Matthew Knies at the 42-second mark. Just over four minutes later, Knies made a great play again, this time driving to Florida’s net with the puck before spinning around and firing a blind pass to the slot. That’s where Auston Matthews was waiting, and his quick one-timer past an out of position Sergei Bobrovsky made it 3-0 Leafs early in the middle frame. When Florida took the ice for the third period, they were without Brad Marchand, who did not finish the game. With 8:22 to go, Carter Verhaeghe scored a goal from below the goal line to get the Cats on the board. It was his 150th goal as a member of the Panthers in his 400th game with the team. That would be as close as Florida would get, and a Bobby McMann empty-net goal in the final seconds made it that much more fun of a night for the home fans in Toronto. On to Montreal. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Panthers' Sam Bennett Reveals That He Is A Potential Injury Replacement For Canada's Olympic Roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/panthers-sam-bennett-reveals-that-he-is-a-potential-injury-replacement-for-canada-s-olympic-roster] Matthew Tkachuk sheds non-contact jersey, joins Panthers for morning skate in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-sheds-non-contact-jersey-joins-panthers-for-morning-skate-in-toronto] Panthers' Sandis Vilmanis And Uvis Balinskis Named To Latvia's 2026 Olympic Roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/panthers-sandis-vilmanis-and-uvis-balinskis-named-to-latvia-s-2026-olympic-roster] Panthers begin 6-game road trip with matchup against division rival Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-begin-6-game-road-trip-with-matchup-against-division-rival-toronto#google_vignette] Seth Jones considered week-to-week, expected back with Panthers before NHL breaks for Winter Olympics [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/seth-jones-considered-week-to-week-expected-back-with-panthers-before-nhl-breaks-for-winter-olympics] Photo caption: Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images)
