No Tanks, Eh: Panthers Beat Leafs in Game Neither Needed to Win

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In order to keep their first-round selections in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, both the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs need to finish as close to the bottom of the standings as possible.

Toronto really needs to finish in the basement — and it showed on Saturday night.

The Maple Leafs, who lose their first-round pick to Boston if it is not in the top 5 after the lottery pull in May, gave up two quick goals and let the Panthers head home with a 6-2 win.

The Panthers, which snapped a four-game losing streak, only need their first-round pick to land in the top 10; if it’s No. 11 or lower, it goes to the Blackhawks.

Florida has two home games remaining to try and maintain their top-10 (in this case) status. A loss to the Rangers or recently eliminated Red Wings should do it.

The Leafs came into the game ranked No. 6 from the bottom in the NHL standings; the Panthers were No. 7.

Both teams iced patchwork lineups with the Panthers going heavy on the Charlotte Checkers callups.

With Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe out, Wilmer Skoog became the seventh player to make his NHL debut with the Panthers this season.

Florida also had over $75 million in salary on the shelf — $85 if you count Sergei Bobrovsky who backed up Daniil Tarasov.

Paul Maurice hoped the young players would add some juice with many getting not only their first real shot in the NHL, but to do it in Toronto on Hockey Night in Canada had to be a thrill.

The Panthers took control of this one 23 seconds in when Eetu Luostarinen (Florida’s highest-paid forward Saturday with a $3 million cap hit) got to a puck off the boards and fired a shot past Joseph Woll.

Just over the 5-minute mark, Cole Reinhardt got his third with the Panthers by driving in on Woll.

Florida led 3-0 after Tomas Nosek got his first of the season early in the second — only William Nylander popped in a pair midway through the period to make it 3-2 going into the third.

Mackie Samoskevich gave the Panthers some breathing room early in the third.

HOW THEY SCORED

• Panthers 1, Leafs 0 (0:23 1st): Eetu Luostarinen gets to a puck off the end boards from Donovan Sebrango and beats Joseph Woll
• Panthers 2, Leafs 0 (5:34 1st): Cole Reinhardt drives around Jake McCabe and pushes the puck past Woll.
• Panthers 3, Leafs 0 (1:32 2nd): Tomas Nosek gets his first goal since Thanksgiving ‘24 by scoring from the high slot.
• Panthers 3, Leafs 1 (10:55 2nd PP): William Nylander beats Daniil Tarasov with a wrister.
• Panthers 3, Leafs 2 (13:16 2nd): Nylander picks a clearing shot and scores from the slot.
• Panthers 4, Leafs 2 (4:13 3rd): Mackie Samoskevich one-times a feed from A.J. Greer.
• Panthers 5, Leafs 2 (15:56 3rd EN): Samoskevich returns the favor, feeding Greer for the game-ending goal.
• Panthers 6, Leafs 2 (18:07 3rd EN): One was simply not good enough for Nosek.

FHN’S 3 STARS

• 1. Mackie Samoskevich, Panthers
• 2. Daniil Tarasov, Panthers
• 3. William Nylander, Maple Leafs

ON DECK: GAME No. 81

NEW YORK RANGERS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• **Where:**Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 931 or 932, NHL App
• **Last Season vs. Rangers:**Panthers Won 2-1
• This Season vs. Rangers (NYR Leads 2-0) — At Panthers: Rangers 5, Panthers 1 (Winter Classic, Jan.2); Monday. At Rangers: New York 3, Florida 1 (March 29).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Rangers lead 64-36-8, 6 ties
• Postseason History (Tied 1-1):  Rangers won 4-1 (1997, 1st round); Panthers won 4-2 (2024 ECF)
• **Up Next for the Panthers:**Wednesday v Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m. (SEASON FINALE)

This article: No Tanks, Eh: Panthers Beat Leafs in Game Neither Needed to Win originally appeared on Florida Hockey Now.