Paul Maurice had the perfect line for the Florida Panthers performance vs Toronto

and the numbers backed up the eye test. Toronto held Florida to four shots in the first period, then scored with 24 seconds left to grab control.

The Maple Leafs piled on early in the second and cruised to a 4-1 win, with Joseph Woll stopping 31 shots and Carter Verhaeghe providing Florida's lone goal. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 19 shots on a night where the Panthers never found their legs.

The bigger storyline for Florida was Marchand not returning after the second intermission, and Maurice later called it a precaution. He said it was a coach's decision, and you could feel the team playing careful with a short bench.

As a fan, you hear «precaution» and you still get nervous, because this season has trained everyone to expect the next shoe to drop.

Florida Hockey Now pegged the Panthers at 233 man-games lost to injury, while the club's NHL injury report listed 227, and either number screams the same message. Maurice admitted there's a danger line when absences creep toward eight or nine regulars.

That context also explains why Maurice sounded blunt but not defeated when asked about the first half. He said he was in a good mood earlier in the day, then reminded everyone the team still has a standard and is «staying in the fight.»

The Panthers have leaned on resilience and timely goaltending to survive nights like this, and they're still waiting for healthier days, including Matthew Tkachuk nearing the point of his expected return window. Now comes Thursday in Montreal, and Florida needs a response that looks like them.

Read more on SunriseHockeyInsider