SUNRISE, Fla. -- The last-place Toronto Maple Leafs are going nowhere this year -- with the possible exception of Nazem Kadri.

The 25-year-old center, who will be a restricted free agent this season, scored a hat trick -- including two power-play goals -- on Tuesday night to help beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Tuesday night at the BB&T Center.

Both of Kadri's power-plays goals came in the second period. The first one, which snapped a 1-1 tie, came with 19 seconds left on the power play. On the second goal, there was just one second left on the man advantage.

Kadri added an empty-net goal with 2:39 left in the game.

"Scoring three goals doesn't happen too often," said Kadri, who has 17 goals this season and will surely attract attention from NHL general managers this summer. "Sometimes you have these nights when the puck just finds you."

Toronto coach Mike Babcock had a different explanation.

"'Naz' likes playing on the flank in the power play," Babcock said. "We've been all over him to get to the middle. It just goes to show, you get to the middle, you score some goals."

While the win was uplifting for a Toronto team that is playing only for pride, the night was a real downer for the Panthers.

Florida suffered what could be a very damaging injury when center Vincent Trocheck, trying to block a shot, took a puck off his right foot and left game after the second period. How long he will be out has not yet been determined.

"That's tough," Panthers right winger Jaromir Jagr said. "Not only did we lose, we lost one of our best players."

Toronto beat Florida goalie Roberto Luongo four times on special teams, including a first-period short-handed goal by Michael Grabner and a third-period power-play goal by P.A. Parenteau.

Toronto went 3-for-4 on its power play -- that occurred one night after the Leafs went 0-for-7 in that category at the Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida went 0-for-3 with the man advantage against Toronto.

The Leafs entered the game last in the league in power-play road goals this season with 11.

Toronto's Connor Brown had three assists, and goalie Jonathan Bernier was strong in the nets to lead the Leafs (28-37-11), who still have the worst record in the NHL. Brown entered the game with just two assists this season.

The only goals allowed by Bernier came off the sticks of Jonathan Huberdeau in the second period and Greg McKegg with 8:34 left in the third. It was the first goal of McKegg's NHL career.

McKegg, Toronto's third-round pick in 2010, said it was "a dream come true" to score against his original NHL organization.

"The puck came loose, and I just banged it in," said McKegg, 23. "We were around the net all night."

Even so, Florida (42-25-9), which is one win away from matching the franchise record for single-season victories, fell to second place in the Atlantic Division. Both the Panthers and the idle Tampa Bay Lightning have 93 points. But Tampa (44-27-5) has more wins in regulation or overtime.

The Panthers may have an advantage in the schedule with six games remaining, but none against projected playoff teams. Then again, that logic did not help against the Leafs.

Toronto opened the scoring, getting a short-handed goal on a crazy sequence involving Grabner.

Initially, Grabner was in alone on Luongo but squandered his breakaway by firing wide. Thirty seconds later, with 4:40 left in the first period, Grabner and Brown broke free on a two-on-one rush. This time, Grabner took a pass from Brown and finished for his eighth goal of the season.

It was just Toronto's second short-handed goal this season.

With 13:37 left in the second period, Huberdeau tied the score on a two-on-one rush. Huberdeau used linemate Aleksander Barkov, who was skating on the left side, as a decoy before firing on net and beating Bernier five-hole.

Toronto went more than 10 minutes without a second-period shot on goal. But that drought ended with Kadri's score on Toronto's first shot of the period.

Kadri struck again with 1:46 left in the second period to stretch Toronto's lead to 3-1.

The teams traded goals in the third period until Kadri's empty-netter ended things.

"I don't mind the way we played five on five," Florida left winger Jussi Jokinen said. "But special teams killed us."

NOTES: Panthers C Derek MacKenzie and D Erik Gudbranson were scratched but could return Thursday against the Devils. Both suffered fractured bones in their feet after blocking shots with their skates. ... Panthers D Willie Mitchell, 38, is skating with the team but may decide to retire due to concerns over multiple concussions during his career. ... Florida signed D Linus Hultstrom, 23, D Michael Downing, 20, to entry-level contracts. Hulstrom comes from the Swedish Elite League. Downing played at the University of Michigan. ... Toronto signed G Kasimir Kaskisue, 22, to an entry-level contract. He had a 1.92 goals-against average this past season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. ... Toronto has nine of the top 100 picks in the 2016 NHL Draft, including selections Nos. 1, 17, 31 and 47.