Sam Bennett scored a pair or power-play goals to help push the Florida Panthers past the Toronto Maple Leafs in a key divisional game at Scotiabank Arena that saw the Cats claim a 3-2 decision.
Florida’s 41st win of the season gave them a four-point cushion over Toronto in the race for first place in the Atlantic Division, with the Maple Leafs still holding a game in hand.
A slick move and pass by William Nylander set up John Tavares’ successful one-timer from the right circle to open the scoring exactly two minutes into the tilt. Simon Benoit drew the secondary assist on the quick strike by the home team.
Bennett would equalize with 2:09 left in the frame with former Panther Oliver Ekman-Larsson off for roughing. After taking a pass from Sam Reinhart, Mackie Samoskevich, who drew the penalty, burst to the net and was denied by another ex-Cat, Anthony Stolarz. The rebound came to Bennett and he swatted it home.
The Panthers added another 13:56 into the second when a determined A.J. Greer’s crisp centering pass found Niko Mikkola jumping into the slot and the towering defenseman then cranked a wrister past Stolarz to break the tie.
Bennett would extend the lead 3:17 later, thanks to a too many men on the ice call of the Maple Leafs. With time running out on the man-advantage, Samoskevich passed to Reinhart below the goal line and he fed Bennett in the bumper spot for the conversion. Kudos to Seth Jones, who made an incredible play to keep the puck in the zone, which led to the goal.
Toronto would halve the deficit 4:26 into the final frame when Calle Jarnkrok took an exit pass from Ekman-Larsson before springing Max Domi. The speedy Domi broke in on Sergei Bobrovsky and beat him with a shot that found space between leg pad and glove.
After gagging up a third period lead Tuesday night in Boston, the Panthers were able to clamp down the rest of the way to capture a key two points.
Props to the penalty kill, which went a perfect 3-on-3 on the night, including two big kills in the first half of the second while the score was still tied.
Bobrovsky finished with 23 saves to post his 424th career win, passing Chicago Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito for 10th place on the NHL’s all-time list.
In addition to gaining on the Maple Leafs, the Cats picked up a point on third place Tampa Bay, who were beaten 4-3 in a shootout by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Panthers rest today before this weekend’s back-to-back against Montreal and the New York Islanders.
Rakes & Bags
- First Star Sam Bennett is up to 22 goals and 44 points after scoring twice. The 22 goals are second-most in his career to the 28 he scored in 2021-22. Bennett is six points away from setting a new career-high with 16 games left in the regular season.
- In his first-ever game against the Maple Leafs, Mackie Samoskevich scored the game-winner. Last night, he collected two assists for the third time in his rookie season. Samokevich has points (3G/3A) in five of the last six games.
- With two assists, Sam Reinhart became the first Panther to reach the 70-point plateau. Reinhart leads the team with 32 goals and his 38 helpers are second to Aleksander Barkov’s 43.
- William Nylander extended his current point streak to seven games while Mitch Marner saw his seven-game point streak come to an end.
- Seth Jones logged a game-high 27:57 of ice time and was credited with three shots, three three hits and three blocks.
StatCard
