Panthers 4 - 1 Maple Leafs
Final
  for this game

Panthers hand Leafs 7th straight loss

Mar 27, 2015 - 3:22 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Pirri continued his torrid scoring pace with two goals, Roberto Luongo moved closer to a milestone and the Florida Panthers boosted their playoff hopes with a 4-1 win over the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs.

Following his multi-goal effort, Pirri has now totaled seven goals over his last seven games and 17 in his last 22.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Steven Kampfer scored 30 seconds apart in the second period for the Panthers, who have won three of their last four games and climbed to within three points of the Eastern Conference's second wild card spot.

Luongo made 24 saves to earn career win No. 399.

Jonathan Bernier started in net for Toronto but was pulled in the second period after surrendering three goals on 16 shots. James Reimer made 11 saves in relief.

The first career NHL goal by Sam Carrick was all the offense mustered by the Maple Leafs in their seventh straight loss.

Aleksander Barkov left the puck for Huberdeau, who skated into the left circle and sent a shot over the glove of Bernier for the Panthers' first goal at 4:23 of the second period.

Florida quickly extended its lead as Kampfer hammered a shot from a sharp angle past Bernier, who was later chased from the crease after Pirri scored on a wrister from the left circle with 5:26 remaining in the second.

Luongo robbed James van Riemsdyk on the doorstep earlier in the second with Florida up 2-0.

Carrick, playing in his 14th NHL game, scored off a feed from Morgan Rielly at 9:13 of the third period to end Luongo's shutout bid.

"In the third period, the last 12 minutes, I just thought we sat on that lead and we didn't play our game," said Florida coach Gerard Gallant.

Pirri sealed the win by scoring into an empty net with 1:36 remaining.

Game Notes

Forward Casey Bailey made his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs on Thursday. He led Penn State with 22 goals and 40 points in 37 games this season before signing a two-year, entry-level contract with Toronto last Saturday ... Florida forward Dave Bolland played in his 400th career game.






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