5 takeaways from Leafs-Panthers: Barkov line dominates vs. Matthews and Marner, Rielly’s costly mistake

Take the Florida Panthers lightly at your own peril.

Florida cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs with a suffocating performance, dominating possession, shot attempts and the flow of the game from the outset. Gustav Forsling, Eetu Luostarinen and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers, while John Tavares notched the lone goal for the Maple Leafs.

Morgan Rielly committed a critical blunder in the third period, where he flubbed a clearance attempt and the puck landed directly on Luostarinen’s stick in front of the net. Luostarinen made no mistake, the Panthers regained a critical 2-1 lead and Verhaeghe added an insurance marker in the final minute of the game.

You can take the long view of the season and it would be unfair to view one game as a referendum on the season, but the Maple Leafs struggled badly in all facets of the game against the class of the conference, and it’s understandable why frustration may be setting back in as the playoffs are on the horizon.

Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ loss to the Panthers

• Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart returned to the Panthers’ lineup, then outright dominated against Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies. Barkov, Reinhart and Verhaeghe outshot the Maple Leafs 7-1 with a 93.48 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick and that may not paint the full portrait. Matthews, nor William Nylander, registered a shot attempt during the first two periods, as the Panthers’ top line thoroughly suffocated Matthews and the Maple Leafs. Matthews registered his lone shot of the game during the third period, Marner didn’t record a shot, and you have to wonder if the Maple Leafs’ top line will be good enough at 5-on-5 during the playoffs. An explosive power play may be covering up several flaws.
• William Nylander is usually the player who drives results when the Maple Leafs are struggling, but he submitted arguably his worst performance of the season. Nylander didn’t register a shot, and didn’t provide the Maple Leafs with his typical playmaking ability. John Tavares scored Toronto’s lone goal of the game and it was an individual effort, which is a neat summary of the Maple Leafs’ play at 5-on-5. Tavares has been Toronto’s best player at 5-on-5 for over a month now, and you expect