National Hockey League
Toronto 6, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 23, 2023
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Gord Dwyer, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Kyle Flemington, CJ Murray
Attendance: 16704

Auston Matthews scored two goals and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 6-2 Thursday night.

William Nylander and Mitchell Marner each had a goal and an assist for Toronto (43-19-9, 95 points). Michael Bunting and Alexander Kerfoot also scored, while John Tavares had three assists and Mark Giordano added two assists.

Matt Murray stopped 33 shots for the Maple Leafs, who are 2-1-0 three games into a five-game trip.

Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins scored for the Panthers (36-29-7, 79 points), who have lost two in a row. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for the Panthers.

Matthews scored at 5:05 of the first period on a 41-foot wrist shot after Marner's pass.

Tkachuk scored his 35th goal at 14:25 of the first on a backhand from a sharp angle during a power play. A video review determined that the puck crossed the goal line before Murray was able to bring it back with his glove. Tavares was serving a hooking penalty.

The Maple Leafs scored twice early in the second period.

Nylander netted his 36th goal of the season at 1:20, knocking in the puck after Tavares had his attempt slide across the crease.

Matthews scored his 34th of the season at 2:57 on a 19-foot wrist shot after he carried the puck from behind the net to the right circle.

Cousins converted his seventh of the season at 11:43 of the second on a second-effort backhand from the slot, pulling Florida within 3-2.

Bunting scored his 21st goal of the season at 18:21 of the second with Toronto on a five-on-three power play. Aaron Ekblad (hooking) and Gustav Forsling (tripping) were off.

Kerfoot scored his eighth of the season at 14:23 of the third period.

Marner's 28th of the season at 15:49 of the third was a short-handed effort into an empty net with Bobrovsky removed for an extra attacker.

Florida forward Sam Bennett (lower-body injury) did not play.

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly was rested and did not play.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Florida
John Tavares 3 Points Nick Cousins 1
Auston Matthews 2 Goals Nick Cousins 1
John Tavares 3 Assists Aleksander Barkov 1
Michael Bunting 1 Power Play Goals Matthew Tkachuk 1
Mitchell Marner 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Matt Murray .943 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .808
Matt Murray 33 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Toronto 27 6 1-4 2-3 6 26
Florida 35 2 1-3 3-4 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Panthers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .535 after a win and .714 after a loss.