Sam Bennett scored power-play goals late in each of the first two periods, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the short-handed Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night for their seventh victory in eight games.

Sam Bennett scored two power-play goals as the visiting Florida Panthers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night.

Cutting into the deficit for the Maple Leafs in the third period, Max Domi, shortly after a power play had expired for Toronto, sniped a shot from the slot to make it 3-2 at 4:26. From there, Sergei Bobrovsky shut the door.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs currently hold second place in the Atlantic Division with a 39-23-3 record, totaling 81 points. They sit just four points behind the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers,

The game marks the first of three meetings between the Maple Leafs and Panthers in the final five weeks of the season. They'll face each other again in Toronto on April 2 followed by a matchup six days later at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla.

The protagonist, it turned out, was Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who earned a place in NHL history. He recorded his 424th career victory as the Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. The win moved Bobrovsky into sole possession of 10th place on the league’s all-time wins list, surpassing Hall of Famer Tony Esposito.

Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (25), Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Alex Nylander (92) and right wing William Nylander (88) go for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) AP

Max Domi isn’t going to the Toronto Marlies any time soon. But if you let social media commenters control the Toronto Maple Leafs, he would have been long gone ages ago.