Maple Leafs defeat Panthers, get 3rd win in past 4 games

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Troy Stecher and Dakota Joshua each had a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

Bobby McMann had two assists, and Joseph Woll made 26 saves for the Maple Leafs (12-11-3), who have won three of their past four.

“Good win. I thought everyone contributed tonight,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “Solid game all around; checked hard, it was physical. Did a lot of good things tonight. It’s good to see. Tonight was probably, I would say, one of the fastest paced games we played all year. We closed on people and checked. When we had pucks, we skated and our forecheck was good. Pace was really good.”

Sam Reinhart scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers (12-12-1), who have lost three in a row and four of five overall. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have also lost four straight at home.

“We are at really small margins in our game,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “In these situations, just staying with it is the most important thing. We have to get better, right? We have to get some higher-end performances out of some guys, but they are playing as hard as they can. The puck is not as friendly as it used to be, there is some tension on the stick. That’s normal, and you see that when you have lost a few in a row.”

Stecher gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 5:24 of the first period, scoring with a point shot through traffic. It was his first goal in 13 games with the Maple Leafs after being claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 15.

“It was a really good win. We didn’t really give them much,” Stecher said. “It felt like in the second period, we tilted the ice from them. It felt like a complete game from all 20 guys who were playing tonight. … It feels nice when you get one.”

Joshua made it 2-0 at 7:54. He took a pass from McMann down low on the rush and shot over Bobrovsky’s right pad. Joshua has scored in two straight games after having no goals in his previous 14.

“It was a big win for us, the ability to hold onto the lead. … There had been a couple games where we had a lead and let it slip away,” Joshua said. “We need to keep it going.”

Reinhart, playing his 800th NHL game, cut it to 2-1 with a short-handed goal at 14:43 of the second period. After winning a puck battle in the left corner, Anton Lundell found Reinhart alone in the slot, and he waited out Woll and beat him over the glove with a shot from the bottom of the right circle.

That was all the scoring the Panthers would get.

“There is some frustration, for sure,” Reinhart said when asked what the mood among his teammates was. “A lot of things have gone right for us over the past few years, and that certainly adds to it. But we have been in this position before. It is going to be guys in the room and guys who are healthy who are going to bring us out of it.”

Scott Laughton gave Toronto a 3-1 lead at 12:18 of the third period with his first goal of the season, scoring from in front of the net on a puck that bounced off the skate of Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

“Big moment for our line to try and get something going for us,” Laughton said. “Late in the game, close game, just a full team effort. We played quick, made it hard to create, and [Woll] was great. We’re going to have to continue to play like that. That’s the recipe for success; we play like that, we will win a lot more games.”

John Tavares scored into an empty net at 19:41 for the 4-1 final.

NOTES: It was the first time the teams faced each other since Florida won 6-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on May 18 at Toronto. … The Maple Leafs became the first team to score on their first shot in three consecutive games this season. … Toronto defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had his nine-game point streak end (10 points; three goals, seven assists). It is tied for the second-longest by a defenseman in franchise history, behind Tom Kurvers (10 games, 1989-90) … The Panthers played without forward Carter Verhaeghe. He and his wife, Casey, were awaiting the birth of their first child.