Florida Panthers Liked Their Game, But Finally Get Much-Needed Win

The Florida Panthers liked their game during their five-game losing streak — and the numbers did not argue otherwise — but they finally got a much-needed win on Tuesday night.

SUNRISE, Fla. — For the better part of two weeks, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice has said that he just wants his team to “look right” headed into the playoffs.

After a slew of injuries, they have managed to do that for the most part, but they have done so in losses.

But they finally got their victory on Tuesday night with captain Aleksander Barkov back from a three-game absence, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1, to snap their longest losing streak since the 2018-19 season.

“We needed to win a game,” Maurice said. “Because we played pretty well here in this stretch and haven’t had much go our way. Almost through two periods, you kind of felt the same way. We weren’t finishing much around the net on some of those chances. I thought we played a pretty smart game. I thought we were fairly true to the identity.”