Panthers Erase Maple Leafs

     The Florida Panthers came back from a four-goal deficit for the second time in four days and took the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-6 in overtime at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday night. Florida overcame a four-goal gap in the third period at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The Cats set an NHL record as they became the first team to come back from three or more goals down for the fifth time in one season. 

     The Panthers, who won their fifth straight game, have three days off until Friday when they host the Buffalo Sabres. The Maple Leafs are now 17-3-2 in their last 22 games. 

     Florida(49-17-6) jumped up to a 1-0 lead with the man advantage at the 3:46 mark. Jonathan Huberdeau angled a cross-ice pass from the left point to the top right circle. Aleksander Barkov backhanded a centering pass and it was tapped in by Sam Reinhart from the crease area. Barkov chalked up his 40th assist while Jonathan Huberdeau got his 74th assist. 

     Toronto(45-19-6) tied it up 1-1 with 4:36 remaining in the first on the power play. Auston Matthews made a pass from the right corner and it was tapped by Morgan Rielly in the high slot. William Nylander blasted a slap shot from the left-circle dot past Sergei Bobrovsky for his 27th goal this season. 

     In the second period, the Maple Leafs came out like an avalanche and scored three goals on three straight shots for a 4-1 lead. Mitch Marner got a shorthanded goal at the 30-second mark as he went by four Florida defenders for a breakaway and placed in a forehand shot. 

     The Leafs followed that with a power-play goal at 1:07. John Tavares backhanded the puck around the boards from behind the cage. Matthews connected a pass from the right point and Marner ripped a wrist shot from the right circle for his second tally of the contest and 32nd goal of the season. 

     Colin Blackwell added an even-strength goal at the 2:04 mark for a three-goal gap. They pulled off a three-man weave play as Rielly slid the puck from the left circle and it was directed in by Blackwell in the blue paint. Marner and Matthews had assists when Jake Muzzin scored his third goal of the campaign from the left circle at 8:40 and they increased their lead to 5-1. 

     The Panthers cut it to 5-2 with 8:08 left in the second on another power-play goal. MacKenzie Weegar pushed the puck from the left point to Barkov in the right circle. Barkov found Reinhart at the top of the crease and he scored on a second-chance shot by Erik Kellgren. Reinhart to set a new-career high with his 26th goal of the season. Reinhart had 25 goals with the Buffalo Sabres in 2017-18 and 2020-21.

     The Cats trailed 5-3 with 7:09 to go in the frame. Radko Gudas carried the puck through the neutral zone and rifled a slap shot from the blue line for his third goal of the campaign. Anton Lindell and Barkov were credited with assists on the play. 

     It became a 5-4 lead for the Maple Leafs when the Panthers scored again with 2:04 left in the second on the first goal by Claude Giroux in a Florida Panthers jersey. Huberdeau feed the puck from the left goal line and Giroux lifted a one-time shot by Jack Campbell from the top of the crease. 

     The Panthers erased the four-goal deficit and evened it up 5-5 on power-play tally at the 2:45 mark of the third period. Giroux forwarded the puck from the top left circle. Reinhart made a square pass from the right of the crease and Huberdeau powered it in from the left of the crease for his 25th goal. Huberdeau scored his 100th point of the 2020-21 regular season and became the first player in Panthers franchise history to reach the 100-point plateau in a season. 

     The Cats moved ahead 6-5 lead at 8:01. Barkov scored from close range for his second goal of the game and 34th goal of the season. Huberdeau picked up his fourth point of the game and his 101th point of the campaign.

     Toronto added their third power-play goal of the contest with 3:54 remaining toe tie it 6-6. Tavares flipped the puck into the net from the edge of the blue paint for his 25th goal this season. 

    Florida completed the comeback victory at 2:47 in overtime. Weegar sent a cross-ice pass at the red line. Barkov brought the puck into the left circle and put it across the low slot. Huberdeau slapped in a shot from the low right circle for his second tally and fifth point of the contest. 

     Hubedeau leads the NHL with the most five-point games this season with three. He became the 14th player in league history to record his first 100-point season 10 years or later into an NHL career.