Another Record Set: Florida Panthers 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (OT)

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers continue to rack up franchise milestones during the 2021-22 season and did so again in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

The Panthers rattled off their 13th consecutive win, breaking their record of 12 wins in a row from 2015-16.

The last team to beat the Panthers was, of course, the Maple Leafs who did so back on March 27 in Toronto.

Since then, the Panthers have had some close calls — and quite a few comebacks.

The Maple Leafs know about Florida comebacks after watching the Panthers roar back from a four-goal deficit the last time these two faced each other.

Saturday, the Panthers were only down two before staging their comeback.

Tied at 2 going into overtime, Brandon Montour scored with 2:34 left off a great feed from Mason Marchment to win it.

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Toronto struck on the first shot of the game 3:25 in.

Mitch Marner fired a slapshot off of a bounce off the boards that zipped past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Maple Leafs the early lead.

Justin Holl made it 2-0 with 2:40 to go with a shot that bounced off of Radko Gudas’ foot and in.

It was the first time Florida trailed by two or more goals since their April 8 win over the Buffalo Sabres, ending a six-game streak.

The Panthers did not let that deter them.

After Toronto held an 11-6 lead in scoring chances and 11-7 in shots during the first period, Florida fired back on all cylinders.

Sasha Barkov got Florida on board, slamming home a loose puck after Mason Marchment got tripped up near the Toronto net to make it 2-1.

The goal was Barkov’s 39th of the year and it came 6:26 into the second period.

Jonathan Huberdeau drew a hooking penalty when on the rush with 5:15 to go in the second, but it was not ruled a penalty shot and the Panthers were awarded a power play.

Nine seconds into the man advantage, Claude Giroux fired a slapshot off of a feed from Huberdeau to tie it up.

The Panthers controlled play for the rest of the period, holding a 14-9 advantage in scoring chances and outshooting Toronto 12-7 in the middle frame.

The third period was one to remember as both teams seemed bound and determined to win it — and both Bobrovsky and Jack Campbell were up to the challenge.

With the two teams going back-and-forth, the game was finally decided thanks to Montour and Marchment.

With the win, Florida is now four points up on Colorado for the top spot in the NHL. Both teams have four games remaining.

Huberdeau is now two points back of Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead.

COLBY’S THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Mason Marchment, Florida

2. Brandon Montour, Florida

3. Sasha Barkov, Florida

PANTHERS ON DECK

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Sunday, 7 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise  
• Streaming Only: Hulu/ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560, SiriusXM
• Last season: Florida won 5-3-0
• Season Series — Florida leads 2-0-1: Florida 4, @Lightning 1 (Oct. 19); @Lightning 3, Florida 2 OT (Nov. 13); @Florida 9, Lightning 3 (Dec 30)
• All-time regular season series: Panthers lead 73-48-18, 10 ties