Power play propels Panthers to win over Maple Leafs

Sam Bennett scored two power-play goals as the visiting Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night.

Niko Mikkola also scored for the Panthers. Sam Reinhart and Mackie Samoskevich each added two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots.

John Tavares and Max Domi scored for the Maple Leafs, and Anthony Stolarz made 22 saves.

The game had a playoff feel with first place in the Atlantic Division at stake and had some chippy moments. Florida is first, four points ahead of Toronto after the victory.

The Maple Leafs scored on their first shot of the game at 2:00 of the first period, Tavares tallied on a one-timer from low in the right circle following William Nylander's diagonal pass.

Domi applied a solid hit to Florida's Carter Verhaeghe nearly two minutes later. Nate Schmidt took on Domi in defense of his teammate, and the pair earned fighting majors.

Florida tied the game with a power-play goal at 17:51 of the first. Samoskevich flicked the puck on goal from short range and the rebound slid to Bennett, who tucked the puck into the net from the lip of the crease. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was off for roughing.

Florida took a 2-1 lead at 13:56 of the second period on the goal that was the residue of that good forechecking that is a team strength. Mikkola scored from the high slot on a pass from A.J. Greer.

Bennett scored from the low slot on the power play at 17:13 of the second, converting Reinhart's pass. The sequence started with a remarkable play by defenseman Seth Jones, who reached with his stick while sprawling to prevent the puck from crossing the blue line and leaving the Toronto zone. The Maple Leafs were short-handed due to having too many men on the ice.

Toronto scored at 4:26 of the third period when Domi took a pass from Calle Jarnkrok during a Florida line change, burst over the blue line and fired from the high slot.

Stolarz was removed for an extra attacker in the final two minutes, but the Maple Leafs could not mount a serious threat.

--Field Level Media