Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) falls to the ice as he defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

By The Canadian Press

Maple Leafs jump out to quick lead, hold off Panthers for 4-1 win

Dec 2, 2025 | 9:16 PM

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Troy Stecher and Scott Laughton both got their first goals of the season, Dakota Joshua added a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bobby McMann had two assists for the Leafs, who have won three of their last four, and John Tavares added an empty-netter with 18.6 seconds left.

Sam Reinhart got his 14th of the season, a short-handed score in the second period for Florida. But Laughton scored with 7:42 left to restore the two-goal edge for the Leafs.

Florida has lost four of its last five, and four straight at home.

It was the first Florida-Toronto game since the second round of last season’s playoffs, a series where the Maple Leafs took the first two games and held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 3 — before losing that game on a goal by Brad Marchand in overtime. Florida would roll to wins in Games 5 and 7 in Toronto, both by 6-1 scores, and went on to capture its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

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But this Florida roster looked a whole lot different than the one last spring did.

The Panthers were again without their long-term injured players — Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov, Eetu Luostarinen and Tomas Nosek among them — plus were without forward Carter Verhaeghe, who missed the game because he and his wife were expecting a baby.

It meant Florida added Jack Studnicka to its fourth line. Studnicka was making his Panthers debut and playing an NHL game for the first time since April 2024.

Up next

Maple Leafs: Visit Carolina on Thursday, the end of a six-game road trip.

Panthers: Host Nashville on Thursday, the fourth game of a six-game homestand.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press