Brown's 4-point game guides Leafs past Panthers
TORONTO -- Connor Brown scored two first-period goals and added two assists Thursday night, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 6-1.
Leo Komarov and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist, and Mitch Marner and Jake Gardiner each added a goal for Toronto (8-6-3).
Nazem Kadri contributed two assists for the Maple Leafs, who are 7-2-0 at Air Canada Centre this season and have won two games in a row.
Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers (8-8-1), who had won their previous two games.
Frederik Anderson stopped 27 shots in the Maple Leafs goal.
Panthers goaltender James Reimer made 24 stops in his first game against the Maple Leafs, his former team.
Brown scored his first goal of the game on a tip-in of Morgan Rielly's shot at 5:05 of the first period to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. The officials on the ice disallowed the goal, ruling it was deflected with a high stick. A video review overturned that call.
The Maple Leafs have scored the first goal in four straight games and in seven of their past eight.
The Panthers tied the game at 10:21 on a shot from the right faceoff circle by Ekblad, his fourth goal of the season, on Jared McCann's pass from behind the net.
The Maple Leafs regained the lead at 15:36 on Brown's second goal of the game and the third of the season. The right winger squeezed through on the right boards in the Panthers' defensive zone, then slid a puck into the crease that deflected off Reimer's skate into the goal.
Toronto took a 3-1 lead at 17:03 on the seventh goal of the season by Marner, who held off defenseman Michael Matheson before making a nifty shift to tuck the puck past Reimer.
Komarov scored his third goal of the season on a soft flip from the slot after a pass by Brown at 7:45 of the second period.
An errant pass attempt by Panthers defenseman Dylan McIlrath gave van Riemsdyk the puck in the slot and he scored his eighth goal of the season at 18:53 of the second for a 5-1 Toronto lead.
Gardiner scored his third goal of the season and Brown earned his second assist of the game at 17:05 of the third period.
NOTES: Panthers G James Reimer had a record of 85-76-23 with a goals-against average of 2.84 and 11 shutouts in 207 games with the Maple Leafs. The wins and games played rank ninth among goaltenders in Leafs franchise history. He was traded last February to the San Jose Sharks and signed with Florida in the offseason. ... Panthers C Seth Griffith was claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs on Saturday. ... Toronto F Connor Carrick returned to the lineup Thursday after sitting out two games. Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said he wants Carrick to use his strong skating and skills instead of trying to be physical. ... Florida plays the third game of their four-game trip Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. ... The Maple Leafs visit the Montreal Canadiens for a game on Saturday.