Panthers 5, Maple Leafs 3
PANTHERS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 3: Mike Santorelli had two goals to lead Florida to its fourth straight win overall and hand host Toronto a fifth consecutive loss.
Florida jumped out to an early 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Marcel Goc and Santorelli. The Maple Leafs were never able to recover.
Goc capitalized on Luke Schenn's turnover 13 seconds into the contest to give the Panthers the early advantage.
Santorelli fired a shot past James Reimer just over two minutes later on just the second attempt on goal for the Panthers. He added another marker in the second period to put Florida up 3-1.
Defenseman Jason Garrison and Stephen Weiss tallied in the third period to boost Florida's lead to 5-2.
Phil Kessel notched his 32nd goal of the campaign in the second period for his 15th point of the month. Nikolai Kulemin and Joffrey Lupul also tallied for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs fell behind 2-0 for the fifth straight game.
Jose Theodore made 28 saves to earn his 17th win of the season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ron Wilson coached his 1,400th game, tying Pat Quinn for fourth in all-time. ... Toronto’s last five-game skid was an 0-6-2 stretch from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2010. ... The Panthers are 11-2-2 against Canadian opponents this season. ... Florida has earned points in 14 of its last 17 games versus the Maple Leafs.