On the second game of their three game north coast road trip, the Florida Panthers traveled to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs, second place in the Atlantic Division. This matchup was the first of three to take place between these teams this NHL season.
The game was back and forth, with the Panthers leading 4-3 after two periods. However, the comeback Leafs (not the Cats this time) stole the game away from Florida in overtime.
Recap
The first period was full of action-packed offense as both teams combined for five goals with the Panthers leading by 1, 3-2.
The Panthers got the scoring party started just one minute and 52 seconds into the game as Carter Verhaeghe ripped one by the Toronto net-minder in Matt Murray. Toronto quickly came back to tie the game on a deflected goal by former Panther, Dryden Hunt, just under one minute after the Cats struck first.
Lundell and Mahura were the two other Panther goal scorers and Kerfoot scored the other Leafs goal in the frame as well.
The second period consisted of hard-bought battles and lots of penalties. With 10 total penalties combined against both teams, there were only two goals scored. Both captains scored; Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov and Leafs Captain Austin Matthews.
In the third period and in overtime, Leafs winger William Nylander was the hero and struck gold for Toronto, capitalizing on Florida’s defensive mistakes and ending the game on a breakaway.
This was a tough break for the Panthers as they looked very tuned in the whole game. The Cats gave it their best effort but came up just short. On the positive side, they came away with a point in the game and now only trail a wild card spot in the playoffs by three points.
Up Next
The Florida Panthers will finish up their brief three game road trip as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, January 19th. This will be a nice test for them as it will be their last time in Canada for over two months.