In Toronto, Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the game with 46 seconds left on the regulation clock to give blunt a Florida Panthers rally that had seen them claw their way to a 5-4 deficit to the Maple Leafs. 
Matthews’ goal goal made it 6-4 for the final count on the scoreboard.
For Matthews, is was his 62nd goal of the campaign.
“I thought we just came out with a lot of purpose there especially in the first (period), and pretty sound game overall,” Matthews said. “Obviously, in the third there I thought we were a little bit more on our heels than we’d like to be, but that’s a really good team over there, so you give them an inch, they’re going to take a yard. Obviously, nice to finish off with the win and two points, but obviously you’d like to clean up some stuff there in the third and be more on the offensive I’d say.”
Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves in the win.
“I think it’s interesting for fans, got some nerves for everybody all the time, but it’s most important we mix in two points right now and we win this game,” Samsonov said. “Doesn’t matter what’s going on. That’s tough game against a good team.”
The Maple Leafs moved to 43-22-9 off their third straight win.
The Panthers rallied with three straight goals in the third period to go from a 5-1 deficit to to 5-4.
Vladimir Tarasenko closed the gap to 5-2 at 2:12, scoring off a deflection.
“We just don’t bring our best in the beginning, and we have to work on that, start the game right away,” Tarasenko said. “Work all together whoever we are playing. Obviously, it was a good push in the third, but obviously it was not enough.”
Sam Reinhart trimmed the deficit to 5-3 at 11:58, scoring off a feed from Tarasenko, who was below the goal line.
Sam Bennett then got the Panthers within one, 5-4, at 18:10, scoring off a shot from the left circle.
“(We found) more urgency (in the third period),” the Panthers’ Brandon Montour said. “We found some ways to obviously bring some energy, and obviously it’s tough when you go down like that. Guys fought to the end, but it is what it is.
“All their goals were in the crease or close to our net. Easy mistakes, uncharacteristic of our team, but it is what it is. Tough tonight.”
The Panthers dropped to 47-23-5 off their seventh loss in nine games.
Nicholas Robertson staked the Maple Leafs to a 1-0 lead at 13:59 of the opening stanza.
“I was going deke (all the way), he plays really low,” Robertson said. “He’s a very good goalie, really quick, so fortunately it went in.
“[The intensity] was high. We definitely wanted to send a message and start on the right foot against Florida. We’ve got them one more time, but if it’s Florida (as Toronto’s opponent in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs), it’s Florida. If not, we just want to start playing really good hockey towards the playoffs.”
Matthews potted his first of the game just scored 33 seconds later to stretch the lead to 2-0 for Toronto.
The Panthers replied with a strike by Brandon Montour with 47 seconds gone in the middle frame to trim the deficit to 2-1.
The Maple Leafs replied to that with three straight goals for a 5-1 lead.
Tyler Bertuzzi hit for a goal 39 seconds after the Montour goal for a 3-1 lead.
David Kampf extended the lead to 4-1 ahead of the midway point of the second period, scoring off a backhand shot.
Matthew Knies ballooned the advantage to 5-1 at 14:05 of the middle frame.
“We were getting a lot of pucks to the net, creating loose pucks and chaos in front of the net, and found a way to bury all those chances,” Knies said.
Sergei Bobrovsky got the start for the Panthers, he made 11 saves, yielding five goals before getting the hook in the second intermission.
Anthony Stolarz made six saves in a mop up role.
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