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The Panthers earn their second win in the last 8 games, overtaking the Maple Leafs 5-1


The Panthers earn their second win in the last 8 games, overtaking the Maple Leafs 5-1


CBS News Miami

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Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe scored power-play goals, Sam Reinhart had a shorthanded win and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 on Wednesday night for just their second win in eight games.

Mackie Samoskevich also scored for Florida, Sam Bennett had an unanswered goal and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots for the Panthers. Verhaeghe also had two assists.

Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leads, who lost for the second time in their last nine games and saw their Atlantic Division lead over Florida shrink to one point.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 19 shots for Toronto. The Maple Leafs lost forward Bobby McMann to a lower-body injury in the second period.

Maple Leafs: Stolarz, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Steven Lorentz – all Panthers last season – received their Stanley Cup championship rings in a ceremony Wednesday morning. Panthers coach Paul Maurice, general manager Bill Zito and a number of Panthers players were also in attendance to celebrate with their former teammates. “It was worth the wait,” said Lorentz.

Panthers: Florida was without Anton Lundell, who left Monday’s game after a puck was deflected into his face. He participated in Wednesday’s morning skate but was not in the game lineup.

Samoskevich’s goal gave Florida a 2-0 lead – it came 50 seconds after Barkov opened the scoring – and was a very good sign for the Panthers. They are now 4-0-0 when the former Michigan star scores.

Reinhart has scored four shorthanded goals this season. The only team other than Florida with four shorthanded goals this season is Columbus, and 20 NHL clubs reported Wednesday with no more than one such goal this season.

The Maple Leafs visit Tampa Bay on Saturday while the Panthers visit Carolina on Friday to begin a home game, with the return game Saturday at Sunrise.

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