Panthers Get By Maple Leafs

     The Florida Panthers returned from a four-game road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center on Tuesday night. The win snapped the Cats three-game losing streak. They face the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in their final home game before the three-week break for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
     It was one-sided during the first period as Florida(22-27-7) had the first nine shots and a 16-2 shot advantage 16 minutes into the game. It remained scoreless after one as the Cats outshot Toronto(30-22-6) 19-4.
     In the second period, the Cats would score on their first power play at 1:14. Brian Campbell passed the puck from the left point to Tom Gilbert in the high slot where he rifled a slapshot over the left shoulder of Jonathan Bernier. Gilbert's fourth goal this season gave Florida a 1-0 lead.
     The Panthers kept up the shooting pace as they were up 35-10 with six minutes left in the second and 37-12 going into the third.
     Florida extended the margin to 2-0 at 5:21 of the third on Jesse Winchester's eighth goal of the season. Scott Gomez received a pass in the left circle. He dropped the puck to Campbell at the left point and he snapped a shot in from beyond the top left circle that was redirected by Winchester in the crease area.
     The Maple Leafs capitalized on a turnover by the Panthers in their own end to make it 2-1 with 10:29 to go. Nazem Kadri had the puck in the left corner, fed it to David Clarkson and he put in a wrist shot from the high slot by Tim Thomas.
     With 6:38 left in the third, Florida regained their two-goal cushion. Shawn Matthias stole the puck from Cody Franson at the red line and skated down the left side. He blasted a slapshot from the top left circle for his sixth goal this year.
     The Cats finished things off with an empty-net goal with 2:30 remaining. Tomas Kopecky picked up a loose puck at center ice and sent a lead pass to Marcel Goc at the Leafs line. He skated in alone and put it into the cage from the slot area.
     Thomas improved to 15-16-3 as he stopped 20 shots while Bernier fell to 20-16-5 as he made 44 saves in a losing effort. The 48 shots that the Panthers had were the most they had in a game this season. It broke the season-high of 45 shots against Buffalo on October 25. The Cats were 1-for-2 on the power play and Toronto had no opportunities in the game.