Takeaways From Panthers Dominant Win over Maple Leafs

Florida came out of the gates hot on Thursday night in Sunrise

Feb 26, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers were the commanding side in their first game following the three-week Olympic break, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 on Thursday night at Amerant Bank Arena. 

Carter Verhaeghe scored the game winning goal and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots en route to his 22nd victory of the season.

Florida improved to 30-25-3 in the win, a desperately needed win as they continue to chase a playoff spot with the NHL regular season quickly reaching dwindling down.

Here’s three takeaways from Thursday’s game.

Dominant first period

Florida had a league-leading 10 players at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. You’d expect a little fatigue out of the gates for the Olympians, and maybe a few shifts for those who had the past three weeks to get their feet warm.

Or disregard all the assumptions and blitz Toronto out of the gates…

They blitzed Toronto out of the gates.

Florida scored three goals in the first period and allowed none, in what was the most dominant they had looked in a period all season. It is important to note Toronto was on the second half of a back-to-back (lost 4-2 in Tampa Wednesday).

Brad Marchand opened the scoring 3:18 into the game, Carter Verhaeghe doubled the lead on the power-play less than two minutes later. 

By the time Evan Rodrigues scored a short-handed goal to make it 3-0 with 3:20 to play in the first, the Panthers had three goals to the Maple Leafs’ two shots. 

“I think our start was huge,” Rodrigues said. “We just kind of rolled from there. They played last night, and sometimes coming off a long break you can get your legs back on that second game, so we kind of felt like they were going to have a push, and I think we were ready for the puck drop.”

At the end of 20, Florida held a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard and 16-6 shot advantage. Rodrigues himself out shot the Maple Leafs with seven shots on his own. 

Marchand looked up to speed

Brad Marchand clearly wasn’t 100% when he left three weeks ago for Milan with Team Canada. The forward missed three of Florida’s final four games prior to the Olympic break, and seven other games in January with an undisclosed injury.

Marchand didn’t play in Canada’s final two preliminary round games, though it wasn’t stated if he was scratched due to injury. He returned for the medal-round, playing in the quarterfinal, semifinal and gold medal game. The 37-year-old seemed to regain his step later in the Olympics, looking a lot closer to his usual self, not the player who was certainly laboring throughout January and early February.

Back in a Panthers sweater on Thursday, Marchand wasted no time impacting the game. 

Marchand opened the scoring 3:16 into first with his 26th goal of the season, beating Joseph Woll after kicking a loose puck to his stick before putting the puck in a wide-open cage for a 1-0 lead.

”I thought we started well, which we really wanted to do,” Marchand said. “At the end of the day the points are what matters right now.

”We did some good things tonight. [I] thought we played really well.”

He scored his second goal of the night with 3:09 left, burying an empty netter from the Panthers defensive zone for a 4-1 lead.

Bobrovsky looked sharp 

It hasn’t been the easiest season for 37-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky. 

The two-time Vezina winning goaltender doesn’t have the best numbers this year. He entered Thursday’s game with a .871 save percentage and a 3.13 goals against average (GAA). Not ideal for an already struggling Florida team. 

The long break seemed to pay dividends for the second oldest Panther; Bobrovsky was superb against Toronto. 

Bobrovsky gave up just one goal, by way of Toronto power-play after John Tavares’ shot went in off defenseman Gustav Forsling before slipping through Bobrovsky’s five-hole. 

“We came out strong, scored three goals,” Bobrovsky said of his team’s performance. “It was a big first period for us and then we played our game. It was a great win.”

With 24 games to go, Bobrovsky will need many more nights like he did on Thursday if the Panthers want to climb out of the hole they’re in and sneak into the playoffs. 

What’s Next?

Florida will be back on the ice Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres (33-19-6) for the second half of a home back-to-back. 

Daniil Tarasov is expected to start in goal for the Panthers. 

Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.

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