Santorelli nets two, Panthers top struggling Leafs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mike Santorelli netted a pair of goals and the 3 win over the Maple Leafs.
Marcel Goc, Jason Garrison and Stephen Weiss also tallied for Florida, which has won three straight contests on the heels of a four-game slide. Jose Theodore stopped 28-of-31 shots in the win.
Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and Joffrey Lupul lit the lamp for the Leafs, who have lost nine of their last 10 games. James Reimer allowed five goals on 23 shots in the setback.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida quickly struck first, just 13 seconds into the contest. Luke Schenn whiffed on a pass attempt in his own zone and Goc -- who missed the last three games with a lower-body injury -- one-timed a slap shot past Reimer from the high slot.
Santorelli put the Panthers up by a pair 2:08 later on his snap shot from the slot off Jack Skille's feed from the right boards.
Lupul appeared to get the Leafs on the board late in the first, but the goal was disallowed because he kicked the puck into the net.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kessel made it 2-1 midway through the second on a wrister from the left circle, but Florida regained its two-goal advantage on Santorelli's backhander on a Panthers power play 3:08 later.
Garrison's wrister on the power play from the right circle gave Florida a 4-1 lead early in the third.
Kulemin cut the deficit to 4-2 at the 8:48 mark, but the Panthers reestablished their three-goal advantage 1:01 later on Weiss' tally.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lupul added a power-play goal late in the third to conclude the scoring.
Game Notes
Florida last won three in a row from February 9-12...Kris Versteeg, who leads Florida with 49 points this year, did not play on Tuesday after leaving Sunday's game with an undisclosed injury...Toronto finished its four-game homestand 0-3-1.