RECAP: Maple Leafs 3, Panthers 2

TORONTO – Missing more than a few big guns, the Florida Panthers battled hard but came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

In defeat, they led 34-22 in scoring chances.

With seven games left in their regular season, the Panthers (44-27-4) now trail the Maple Leafs (46-25-4) by four points for first place in the Atlantic Division.

“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t like our game tonight,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We did a lot of good things. We controlled a lot of the play. We just would’ve liked to get the win.”

Already hitting the road without several key pieces -- including Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad -- the Panthers took the ice in Toronto missing two more important players as Aleksander Barkov and Nico Sturm both sat out with injuries.

Barkov (upper body) exited in the second period of Tuesday’s loss at Montreal but was able to return for the third, while Nico Sturm (undisclosed) left in the first and did not return.

Following tonight's tilt, head coach Paul Maurice said Barkov is day to day.

"He'll play as soon as he's healthy,” he said. “I don't think it's a long-term deal."

Even undermanned, the Panthers had a strong start in Toronto.

Getting through the first period unscathed, the Panthers trailed just 7-5 in scoring chances at 5-on-5, with their biggest moment of opening 20 minutes being a very strong penalty kill.

On that kill, defenseman Seth Jones was deployed nearly the entire two minutes.

“Each and every guy brought their A game today,” Rodrigues said.

Going on the offensive early in the second period, the Panthers broke the ice when Gustav Forsling teed up a pass from Sam Reinhart and unloaded a heat-seeking missile that blew straight past Anthony Stolarz and into the twine to make it 1-0 at 1:03.

With the goal, Forsling achieved his fourth straight 10-goal campaign.

Just past the midway point of the middle frame, Sergei Bobrovsky came up with a big save on Chris Tanev, who made his way down from the blue line for a quality shot in transition.

Getting the Maple Leafs on the board, John Tavares went to the net and re-directed a slap pass from William Nyland past Bobrovsky from the doorstep to make it 1-1 at 11:31.

Not giving the Maple Leafs much else than that, the Panthers looked dominant for the vast majority of the second period, finishing with 16-6 lead in scoring chances and 1.46 expected goals.

“There’s a whole bunch of things we did right that are kind of systemic of what we’re trying to do,” Maurice said.

A few moments after Bobrovsky denied Bobby McMann with a stellar save in a one-on-one battle, Mitch Marner put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-1 with a wicked far-side snipe at 10:50.

Tacking on another goal for Toronto, Matthew Knies cashed in on a breakaway to make it 3-1 at 15:09.

That goal proved to be very important for the Maple Leafs as the Panthers managed to cut their deficit back down to just one goal when Sam Reinhart wired home a shot from the high slot on the power play to make it 3-2 at 17:22.

From there, the Panthers continued to press but couldn’t find another goal to force overtime.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to tie it in the end, but I think we played pretty well,” forward Anton Lundell said. “We’re going to look over it now and see what we can do even better.”

THEY SAID IT

“Our game was right tonight. For context, our game was right.” – Paul Maurice on his team’s performance against the Maple Leafs

“It’s playoff hockey. This time of the year, it’s always one-goal games. We’ll continue to fight, continue to build.” – Evan Rodrigues on playing in tight games

“That’s hockey sometimes. You just need to keep battling. I feel like we played pretty well today. Sometimes you’ve just got to push and keep battling and at some point you’re going to get the bounces on your side.” – Anton Lundell on coming up short in Toronto

CATS STATS

- Sergei Bobrovsky appeared in his 750^th NHL game.

- Anton Lundell won a team-high 11 faceoffs.

- Seth Jones led the Panthers with five hits.

- Florida led 67-39 in shot attempts at 5-on-5.

- Sam Reinhart posted a team-high 66.39 xGF% at 5-on-5.

- The Panthers had 21 of their shots blocked.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will have a few days to recharge before kicking off their second back-to-back of the road trip with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch in South Florida, click HERE.