Takeaways - Leafs at Panthers - 12/15/18

LEAFS SURRENDER POWER PLAY GOALS IN FIRST, SECOND PERIODS
A heroic third period comeback fell short Saturday night in Sunrise as the Leafs fell to Florida by a 4-3 final in overtime.
Toronto's competitiveness throughout the game wasn't in question - they pressured the Panthers consistently and earned three power plays in that span - but Florida goalie Roberto Luongo was sharp as he turned aside all 18 Leafs shots through two periods and entered the third frame seeking a shutout.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen also was focused, but he also had to deal with three power plays, and the Panthers scored on two of them - once, in the first period on Barkov's first goal of the game; and once, in the second when Jonathan Huberdeau scored. That left Toronto to deal with a two-goal deficit entering the final period.

TAVARES, MARNER GOALS TIE IT IN THIRD, BUT BARKOV ANSWERS BACK WITH SECOND OF GAME
The Leafs continued to push the Panthers as the third period began, and Toronto outshot Florida 10-3 at one point late in the third. That pressure eventually led to two Leafs goals - the first, from centre John Tavares at the 10:24 mark:

Tavares' goal was his team-leading 20th of the season. Toronto's comeback continued with 3:39 left in regulation, when winger Mitch Marner netted his seventh goal of the year:

Marner's dazzling dekes created the space and opportunity in front of Luongo, and Marner didn't miss, shooting high to tie the game. However, Barkov scored his second of the game just 27 seconds after Marner tied it, and just like that, Toronto needed a goal in the final 3:12 of regulation time to even the score again. Thanks to Marner, they got it.
MARNER NETS SECOND OF NIGHT TO SEND GAME TO OT, BUT BARKOV'S HAT TRICK WINS IT FOR PANTHERS
Marner has been one of the NHL's best in the assists department this season, with 35 in 32 games entering Saturday's game. But he had notable success scoring against the Panthers, producing his second of the game with 1:40 left in the third to tie it up again:

Marner's second goal sent the game to overtime, and Barkov generated his third of the game (for his first career hat trick) at 3:24 to win it for the Panthers and hand the Leafs their second straight defeat.
Of course, there are other elements to the game - again, Barkov was a beast for the Panthers - but by the time it ended, the Leafs were 0-for-4 on the power play, and the Panthers were 2-for-4. That means Florida's special teams were better than Toronto's and that was the difference-maker on the second-last game of the Leafs' five-game road trip. The Buds will have the final game of their road trip Tuesday in New Jersey, and they'll need to improve those special teams to get back on the winning side of the ledger.