Apr 2, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34), Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) battle to get to a loose puck during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9d7f27d6-d3d3-4ecf-be36-2af2a82ed7f7.jpeg] Apr 2, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34), Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) battle to get to a loose puck during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) It’s been a tough week for the Florida Panthers. For the first time since late November, the Panthers have lost three straight games, capped off by Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The big news that came down before the game was that Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov would be out due to an upper-body injury. During the first period, the Cats and Leafs combined to put 18 shots on Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz, but the former teammates stopped each and every one of them, keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes. It didn’t stay that way very long. Deep in Toronto’s zone, Seth Jones carried the puck toward the blue line before starting a quick passing play that led to the game’s first goal. The puck went from Jones to San Bennett to Sam Reinhart to Gus Forsling, who snapped a one-timer that beat Stolarz over the glove to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Toronto tied the game about 10 minutes later after capitalizing on a broken rush play. After getting into Florida’s end, William Nylander found the puck in the left circle and fired a shot toward the net that was deflected by John Tavares on the doorstep to knot the score at one. A Mitch Marner one-timer gave Toronto a 2-1 lead with 9:10 to go in the third period on a sequence that saw Bobrovsky made several great saves moments before the goal was scored. Marner then made an excellent pass to send Matthew Knies on a breakaway less than five minutes later to extend Toronto’s lead to 3-1. Reinhart cut the Leafs’ lead in half with 2:38 to go, sniping a power play goal over a screened Stolarz’s blocker. That’s as close as the Cats would get. On to Ottawa. QUICK THOUGHTS Bobrovsky played in his 750th career game. Forsling’s goal was his first in 16 games. Bennett’s assist on Forsling’s goal gave him five points over his past six outings. Reinhart has now logged six goals and 14 points over his past 13 games. Jones has his first three-game point streak since joining the Panthers and picking up an assist on Reinhart’s goal. He also has points in five of his past seven games. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Fresh off frustrating loss, Panthers in Toronto for big divisional showdown [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/fresh-off-frustrating-loss-panthers-in-toronto-for-big-divisional-showdown] Three takeaways: 'Bad break' goal ruins strong outing from Panthers in Montreal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-bad-break-goal-ruins-strong-outing-from-panthers-in-montreal] Panthers blow another late lead, fall 3-2 in overtime to Montreal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-blow-another-late-lead-fall-3-2-in-overtime-to-montreal] Fireworks possible in rematch between Panthers and Canadiens that comes with major playoff implications [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/fireworks-possible-in-rematch-between-panthers-and-canadiens-that-comes-with-major-playoff-implications] Matthew Tkachuk resumes skating, Panthers still targeting opening round of playoffs for return [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-resumes-skating-panthers-still-targeting-opening-round-of-playoffs-for-return]
