Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko speaks after Florida's 6-4 loss to Toronto on April 1. Panthers Forward Carter Verhaeghe left the game early in the third period Monday and in his absence trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko moved up to the top line. Tarasenko had two points playing alongside Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart in the third period on Monday. Coach Paul Maurice was impressed with how all three of these players played, despite the loss. He especially pointed out the play of Tarasenko. “These three were really good again” Maurice said. “I think its 5 goals in only 11 or 12 games, but he’s (Tarasenko) pretty prolific. So we’ll see what happens with Verhaeghe if he’s going to miss games. In that case we”ll probably run him (Tarasenko) with Barkov and give him a good long stand there and see what we can come up with”. Tarasenko had three third period points against the Leafs giving him points in four of the last 5 games. As Maurice pointed out, he has 5 goals in 12 games since joining the Panthers. Despite his three-point game, Tarasenko, the lone Stanley Cup champion on the Panthers roster was not thrilled with the loss. “Its nice to score goals gets passes, but if team loses you don’t experience same happiness” he said. When asked about moving up to the top line alongside Barkov and Reinhart, Tarasenko commented “we can use this term like relax a little bit. We was down and tried to play simple, make plays and play hard at the same time and give us a result” While Tarasenko’s unhappiness with the loss is understandable, the Panthers offence did get a big spark when he moved up to the top line in the third. They scored 3 goals and controlled the play in the closing frame. Interesting to see if that top lines offensive production with the addition of Tarasenko will carry over to not just Tuesday night’s game in Montreal, but for however long Carter Verhaeghe is out of the lineup. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Maurice downplays comeback attempt , shakeup on back end [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-maurice-downplays-comeback-attempt-shakeup-on-back-end] Panthers look to pick up win in back-to-back against Montreal after sloppy loss in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-look-to-pick-up-win-in-back-to-back-against-montreal-after-sloppy-loss-in-toronto] Carter Verhaeghe suffers apparent injury in Toronto, did not return after leaving game [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/carter-verhaeghe-suffers-apparent-injury-in-toronto-did-not-return-after-leaving-game] Comeback effort falls short, Panthers dropped 6-4 in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/comeback-effort-falls-short-panthers-dropped-6-4-in-toronto]
