Toronto 6, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 23, 2023
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen:
Kyle Flemington, CJ Murray
Attendance:
16704
By Field Level Media
Auston Matthews scored two goals and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 6-2 Thursday night.
William Nylander and Mitchell Marner each had a goal and an assist for Toronto (43-19-9, 95 points). Michael Bunting and Alexander Kerfoot also scored, while John Tavares had three assists and Mark Giordano added two assists.
Matt Murray stopped 33 shots for the Maple Leafs, who are 2-1-0 three games into a five-game trip.
Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins scored for the Panthers (36-29-7, 79 points), who have lost two in a row. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for the Panthers.
Matthews scored at 5:05 of the first period on a 41-foot wrist shot after Marner's pass.
Tkachuk scored his 35th goal at 14:25 of the first on a backhand from a sharp angle during a power play. A video review determined that the puck crossed the goal line before Murray was able to bring it back with his glove. Tavares was serving a hooking penalty.
The Maple Leafs scored twice early in the second period.
Nylander netted his 36th goal of the season at 1:20, knocking in the puck after Tavares had his attempt slide across the crease.
Matthews scored his 34th of the season at 2:57 on a 19-foot wrist shot after he carried the puck from behind the net to the right circle.
Cousins converted his seventh of the season at 11:43 of the second on a second-effort backhand from the slot, pulling Florida within 3-2.
Bunting scored his 21st goal of the season at 18:21 of the second with Toronto on a five-on-three power play. Aaron Ekblad (hooking) and Gustav Forsling (tripping) were off.
Kerfoot scored his eighth of the season at 14:23 of the third period.
Marner's 28th of the season at 15:49 of the third was a short-handed effort into an empty net with Bobrovsky removed for an extra attacker.
Florida forward Sam Bennett (lower-body injury) did not play.
Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly was rested and did not play.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Toronto |
|
Florida |
John Tavares 3 |
Points |
Nick Cousins 1 |
Auston Matthews 2 |
Goals |
Nick Cousins 1 |
John Tavares 3 |
Assists |
Aleksander Barkov 1 |
Michael Bunting 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Matthew Tkachuk 1 |
Mitchell Marner 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Matt Murray .943 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky .808 |
Matt Murray 33 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 21 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Toronto
|
27 |
6 |
1-4 |
2-3 |
6 |
26 |
Florida
|
35 |
2 |
1-3 |
3-4 |
8 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Panthers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
Toronto will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .535 after a win and .714 after a loss.