Nylander absent, special teams letdown, and more: 3 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs lost 5-1 to Florida Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a tough 5-1 decision to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at the Amerant Bank Arena. With the win, the Panthers closed the gap on the first-placed Leafs, trailing them by just one point.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov opened the scoring with a power play at 4:46 of the first period. Mackie Samoskevich, Sam Reinhart (SHG), Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Bennett (EN) added the others for the Cats. Meanwhile, Mitch Marner got the Leafs on the board with a power play goal in the second period.

So, let’s take a look at the three reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

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Three reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers

#3 The Leafs' penalty kill and William Nylander underwhelmed

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Wednesday night’s game ranked seventh in the league with an 83.6% penalty kill rate. However, they gave up two power play goals.

In particular, the William Nylander double minor for high-sticking was a true backbreaker. With the Leafs down 3-1, Nylander was sent off, giving the Cats a four-minute power play. Verhaeghe scored on the first part of the power play to seal the win.

Overall, the Leafs' penalty kill was dreadful, given how the game was within reach in the third period. The disappointing effort allowed the Panthers to notch up a solid win.

#2 Toronto's power play disappointed

On the surface, going 1-for-3 on the power play isn’t all that bad. However, the Leafs gave up a shorthanded goal late in the second period to make the game 3-0. Sam Reinhart took advantage of a misplayed puck and beat netminder Anthony Stolarz to get the shortie.

While the Leafs got that goal back shortly after, the fact that they gave up a shorthanded goal when the game was 2-0 made it that much more difficult to get back into the game.

#1 The Leafs' special teams were a letdown

While the Toronto Maple Leafs' special teams were a letdown, the major factor for the Leafs’ defeat was how the Panthers outplayed them. The Panthers’ relentless forechecking kept the Leafs on their heels the whole night.

Moreover, Toronto was unable to get much momentum going, as the Panthers rolled four solid lines with the mission to take the game to the Leafs. Meanwhile, Leafs defenders spent the entire night chasing the puck.

The Leafs had some good moments but were eventually unable to translate those opportunities into goals.

Toronto will be off until Saturday night when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Leafs hope to get their captain Auston Matthews back by then.