SUNRISE, Fla. -- Nazem Kadri had a hat trick, including two power-play goals with the man advantage nearly expired, as the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs surprised the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Tuesday night at the BB&T Center.
Florida suffered what could be a damaging injury when center Vincent Trocheck, trying to block a shot, took a puck off his right foot and left game after the second period.
Toronto beat Florida goalie Roberto Luongo four times on special teams, including a short-handed goal in the first period by Michael Grabner and a power-play goal in the third period by P.A. Parenteau.
Both of Kadri's power-plays goals were in the second period. The first one, which snapped a 1-1 tie, came with 19 seconds left on the power play. On the second goal, which was Kadri's 16th of the season, there was just one second left on the man advantage.
Kadri added an empty-net goal with 2:39 left in the game.
The Leafs entered the game last in the league in power-play goals on the road this season with 11.
In addition, Connor Brown had a three assists, and goalie Jonathan Bernier was strong in the net to lead the Leafs (28-37-11), who still have the worst record in the NHL. Brown entered the game with just two assists this season.
The only goals allowed by Bernier came off the stick of Jonathan Huberdeau in the second period and Greg McKegg with 8:34 left in the third. It was the first goal of McKegg's NHL career.
Florida (42-25-9), which is one win from matching the franchise record for victories in a season, fell to second place in the Atlantic Division. Both the Panthers and the idle Tampa Bay Lightning have 93 points, but Tampa Bay (44-27-5) has more wins in regulation or overtime.
The Panthers, though, may have an advantage in the schedule with six games remaining yet none against projected playoff teams. Then again, that logic did not help against the Leafs.
Toronto opened the scoring, getting a short-handed goal on a crazy sequence involving Grabner.
Initially, Grabner was in alone on Luongo but squandered his breakaway by firing wide. Thirty seconds later, with 4:40 left in the first period, Grabner and Brown broke free on a two-on-one rush. This time, Grabner took a pass from Brown and finished for his eighth goal of the season.
It was just Toronto's second short-handed goal this season, and the Maple Leafs effectively killed two first-period penalties.
With 13:37 left in the second period, Huberdeau tied the score on a two-on-one rush. Huberdeau used linemate Aleksander Barkov, who was skating on the left side, as a decoy before firing on net and beating Bernier five-hole.
The Maple Leafs went more than 10 minutes without a second-period shot on goal. But that drought ended with Kadri's score on Toronto's first shot of the period.
Kadri struck again with 1:46 left in the second period to stretch Toronto's lead to 3-1.
NOTES: Panthers C Derek MacKenzie and D Erik Gudbranson were scratched but could return Thursday against the Devils. Both suffered fractured bones in their feet after blocking shots with their skates. ... Panthers D Willie Mitchell, 38, is skating with the team but may decide to retire because of concerns over multiple concussions during his career. ... Florida signed D Linus Hultstrom, 23, and D Michael Downing, 20, to entry-level contracts. Hulstrom comes from the Swedish Elite League. Downing played at the University of Michigan. ... Toronto signed G Kasimir Kaskisue, 22, to an entry-level contract. He had a 1.92 goals-against average this past season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. ... Toronto has nine of the top 100 picks in the 2016 NHL Draft, including Nos. 1, 17, 31 and 47.
